WASHINGTON — Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said Wednesday that Democrats would not block a vote on the Defense Department's new abortion policy to bring an end to Republican Sen. Tommy Tuberville's hold on military promotions.
Tuberville, an Alabama Republican, has been holding up promotions for high-level military officers for months in opposition to a Defense Department policy that pays travel expenses for service members who need to go out of state to have an abortion. He has said he would end the blockade, which now affects more than 250 military officials, if given a vote on the policy.
Asked by NBC News on Wednesday if he would give Tuberville a standalone vote affirming the Pentagon's abortion policy, Schumer, D-N.Y., said Democrats would not block it. "If he wants to have an affirmative vote, we would not object to it. Tuberville said he wanted a vote, we’ll see what happens," Schumer said.
But Schumer put the onus on Senate Republicans to find a path forward, blaming them for not "stopping" Tuberville. "The bottom line is it’s up to the Republican leadership," Schumer said. "This is a problem that they have in their caucus, that they have with the country. They are risking our security and it’s up to them to fix it."
Schumer noted that both Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell and Minority Whip John Thune have "disagreed strongly" with Tuberville's hold on the promotions, adding "it is their responsibility to get him to stop."
Informed of Schumer's offer to allow an affirmative vote on the policy Wednesday, Tuberville sounded surprised. "Oh, really?" he asked. "Well, I'll have to talk to him."
"I mean that’s what I’ve been asking for all along — a standalone vote," Tuberville said. "Just bring it to the floor and don’t let the Pentagon legislate. That’s all I want."
Tuberville said he has not discussed the abortion policy with Schumer. "I’ve never talked to him in 2 1/2 years," he said.
Earlier Wednesday, McConnell told reporters that he would be "reluctant" to try to end-run Tuberville's hold by changing the process for holds in the Senate. "I’m reluctant to go down that path," the Kentucky Republican said. "We have holds on both sides. What typically happens is you work it out, and I think that’s where we ought to stay."
Tuberville's hold has drawn increased criticism, including from some Republicans who also oppose the Defense Department's abortion policy. “The point about holding up promotions, we need to end that,” Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., said last week. “You don’t always get your way around here. You do get to vote, but we lost an election.”
President Joe Biden and Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin have criticized Tuberville's tactics, arguing he's endangering the military's readiness. Austin and Tuberville have spoken by phone about the holds twice this month without coming to a solution.
