Senate Democrats detail impact of Tuberville's holds on military

Senate Democrats detail impact of Tuberville’s holds on military

Senate Democrats say Tuberville is undermining the military
They detailed disruptions to military family life as one example
Tuberville says the Senate could vote on promotions individually

Updated: Sep 14, 2023 / 01:15 PM CDT

A soldier of the US army wears the country’s flag on his uniform during the ‘Dynamic Front 22’, the US Army led NATO and Partner integrated annual artillery exercise in Europe, in Grafenwoehr, near Eschenbach, southern Germany, on July 20, 2022. – The ‘Dynamic Front 22’ exercise, led by 56th Artillery Command, is the premier US led NATO and Partner integrated artillery exercise in Europe and includes more than 3000 participants from 19 nations. Allied artillery and supporting units practice integrating joint fires and test interoperability in a multi-national enviroment until 24 July, 2022. (Photo by Christof STACHE / AFP) (Photo by CHRISTOF STACHE/AFP via Getty Images)

(NewsNation) — In a new memo released this week, Senate Democrats detailed what they said is the impact of Alabama Republican Sen. Tommy Tuberville’s holds on military promotions. The Alabama Republican began his blockade on promotions earlier this year to protest federal policy supporting service members who may travel to other states to obtain abortions.

The memo, prepared by the staff of Democratic lawmakers who serve on the Senate Armed Services Committee, counts 273 individual nominations Tuberville is blocking.

Meanwhile, it claims at least 25 three- and four-star officers had to delay their retirements to ensure that staffing is properly attended to due to the blockade. The memo says a majority of these officers have served for 30 or 40 years.

The memo also details individual anecdotes about military families who have been impacted. It notes the case of a senior officer with several children expecting a promotion that would have resulted in a move. Because of the holds, the officer already disenrolled his kids from their previous school but can’t enroll them in their new school.

Tuberville has maintained that the Senate could vote on promotions individually to get around his holds. But the memo estimates that it would take 700 hours to go through these promotions on a case-by-case basis.