Sen. Tommy Tuberville (R-AL) vowed to continue blocking military promotions, and he urged leadership to draw inspiration from his work as a college football coach if they feel overworked.
The Alabama Republican has single-handedly held up the promotions to protest a Pentagon policy to reimburse service personnel who travel out of state for abortions and other reproductive services, and he told CNN's Manu Raju that a new effort by GOP senators would not force him to cave.
“What have I done for the last nine months?” Tuberville said . “I mean, this is no different than what [Sen.] Elizabeth Warren did or [Sen.] Jack Reed (D-RI) or Sen. (D-MA) [Michael] Bennet (D-CO). I mean, it’s all the same thing.”
The blockade has been blamed as contributing factor for the hospitalization of Marine Corps commandant Gen. Eric Smith, who suffered an apparent heart attack, but Tuberville said military leaders should do a better job of delegating their work to remain healthy and fit to serve.
“It’s [defense] secretary [Lloyd] Austin’s job to get people ready,” Tuberville said. “I mean, people are still in the game. They might not be making a call somewhere, but they might after I give him a promotion, but all jobs are filled. I mean, it’s you can’t tell me that our military is not functioning the way it should function at a high readiness, especially with what’s going on now.”
Tuberville pointed out that Smith and other top military brass had large staffs, like he did as coach of several major college football programs.
“You got a job," he said. "You can only do so much, and you got to lean on the people underneath you. I coached for a long time – I think 15 or 20 coaches, I mean, you can only do so much. You got to give responsibility. I’m sure that’s what they’re doing."
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