Here’s the brand new reason Tuberville is blocking a military general’s promotion
For months, far-right Sen. Tommy Tuberville (R-Alabama) held up hundreds of military promotions as a way of protesting the Pentagon's payment of abortion-related travel expenses.
Now, Tuberville is blocking a promotion for Lt. Gen. Ronald Clark, but not because of abortion. Rather, the far-right Alabama senator, according to the Washington Post's Dan Lamothe, is holding up the promotion because of "concerns about the secrecy surrounding Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin's hospitalization."
Clark was Austin's senior military assistant when, on December 22, 2023, he underwent surgery for prostate cancer. The defense secretary was later hospitalized because of complications from that surgery.
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A Tuberville spokesperson told AL.com, "Sen. Tuberville has concerns about Lt. Gen. Clark's actions during Secretary Austin's hospitalization. Lt. Gen. Clark knew that Sec. Austin was incapacitated and did not tell the commander in chief. As a senior commissioned officer, Lt. Gen. Clark's oath requires him to notify POTUS when the chain of command is compromised."
The spokesperson added that Tuberville "is waiting to see" a forthcoming inspector general report.
AL.com's Greg Garrison reports, "Clark and other senior members of Austin's staff did not know about his cancer diagnosis and surgery until he was in intensive care on January 2, and then withheld that information from Biden and senior White House officials for two more days once they were made aware, the (Washington) Post said."
Garrison adds, "Tuberville, in 2023, blocked the promotions of more than 400 senior military officers over a Pentagon policy granting leave and travel cost reimbursement to troops who need to travel to obtain reproductive health care, including abortions."
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