'Furious' Republicans rage against Tuberville aide who floated primary challenges to GOP senators

The communications director for Sen. Tommy Tuberville (R-AL) is drawing the ire of Senate Republicans over an email he sent floating primary challenges for GOP senators, NBC News reports.

Tuberville spokesman Steven Stafford last month sent an email to anti-abortion groups “from his official Senate email” asking for help assembling a “team” to “make clear” that Republican senators voting for a resolution to bypass Tuberville’s military holds “will be primaried,” the Messenger reports.

Stafford’s email, obtained by Politico, points to an Oct. 26 Washington Post article about an effort by Senate Democrats to “circumvent” Tuberville’s longstanding “blockade of military nominees over a Pentagon abortion policy.”

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In his email to anti-abortion groups, Stafford quoted the Post article:

"A Senate aide who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss internal developments said some Republicans had already signed onto the plan, but that they were not yet at the 60 votes they’d need."

"In my opinion it is imperative for all of the groups to make clear, in some words, that any Republican who votes for this will be primaried,” Stafford wrote. “As Coach [Tuberville] said to the press earlier today, this would be ‘political mass suicide’ for Senate Republicans.

NBC News reports “some Republican senators were furious” with Stafford’s email.

“I have seen it," Sen. Joni Ernst [R-IA] told NBC News. "I have some words and they’re not polite so I’m not going to say them.

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Ernst was one of several Republicans who confronted Tuberville on the Senate floor Wednesday night in what the Post described as “a remarkable scene.”

Per the Post:

[Wednesday's] confrontation stretched nearly five hours, with Ernst, a retired Army officer, and [Dan] Sullivan [R-AK], a colonel in the Marine Corps Reserve, rotating to bring forward the bulk of 61 officers presented by name. They called out Tuberville for saying previously that he would relent on nominations that were brought forward for votes individually.

Sen. Steve Daines (R-MT), who did not confront Tuberville on Wednesday, said Stafford “should face some punishment" for his email "up to and including termination," according to NBC News.

“My understanding is it did not come from Senator Tuberville, it came from his staffer, and I’m confident that Senator Tuberville will take appropriate action,” Daines said. “It’s a violation of ethics rules, and it needs to be dealt with severely.”

Reached for comment, “Stafford disputed the characterization that he was calling for primary challengers to Tuberville's colleagues" and emphasized the comment was “his opinion," Politico reports.

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“That was a private email to a small group of people I thought were my friends, I was giving my personal opinion,” Stafford told Politico. ”It is not the opinion of Coach, it was not on behalf of Coach. He was not aware of the email, and I have apologized to him for that.”

In a statement to Politico, Tuberville described his aide's email as a “no-no.”

“It wasn’t my statement,” Tuberville insisted. “I totally disagree with that. We’re teammates here.”

Read the full report at NBC News.

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