Sen. Tommy Tuberville (R-Ala.), who clashed with Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin earlier this year over the Pentagon’s health care policies, is holding up the promotion of a top Austin aide who is in line to become a four-star commander in the Pacific.
Tuberville has blocked the promotion of Lt. Gen. Ronald P. Clark because of “concerns” about Clark’s role in not announcing Austin’s absence due to a health emergency in January.
“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,” said Mallory Jaspers, a spokesperson for Tuberville.
Jaspers said Clark was required to inform President Biden of Austin’s absence from duty when he was admitted to Walter Reed National Military Medical Center and later placed in an intensive care unit due to complications from prostate surgery in December.
“As a senior commissioned officer, Lt. Gen. Clark’s oath requires him to notify POTUS when the chain of command is compromised. Sen. Tuberville is waiting to see the forthcoming IG report,” Jaspers said.
Biden nominated Clark to the grade of commanding general of the U.S. Army in the Pacific.
Clark was one of a handful of Austin aides who reportedly knew of Austin’s emergency hospital admission.
The Pentagon didn’t announce until Jan. 5 that Austin was in the hospital; senior White House officials were kept in the dark for at least three days.
Tuberville also clashed with Austin for months over the Pentagon’s policy of reimbursing the travel costs of service members who travel across state lines to obtain abortions and other reproductive health procedures.
The Alabama senator held up military promotions for more than 10 months, stalling more than 451 officers, until he finally relented under intense pressure from Senate colleagues, including a group of fellow GOP senators.
