signalmankenneth
Verified User
Where is McConnell on this, he the minority leader he should talk to this crackpot senator about ending this?!! The DOD is not going to give in to his demands either?!! When this over the senate needs to do away with this senate rule, where one senator can hold-up legislation?!! If the DOD were to give into Tuberville, it would embolden more senators to impose their will and agenda on the DOD too. Tuberville is hurting our military readiness too?!!
It should be a national embarrassment, worthy of widespread outrage, that a former football coach and freshman senator from Alabama can hamstring military promotions for months without severe consequence.
Sen. Tommy Tuberville (R-AL) is holding scores of military appointments hostage because he doesn’t want the Pentagon to pay the travel costs for service members seeking abortion care.
Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin says military readiness is being compromised. If Tuberville doesn’t end his blockade, we won’t have a chairman of the joint chiefs after General Mark Milley’s term expires on Oct. 1. “Milley’s going to have to work overtime then,” Tuberville told CNN, making it clear he wouldn’t be backing down.
Which begs the question: Where does GOP Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) stand on Tuberville’s hostage-taking? The longest serving Senate leader in history is known for his ability to control his side of the aisle.
Why isn’t he putting an end to this nonsense?
The two most likely reasons are that he’s finally losing his iron grip over his caucus, or he has made a calculated decision to avoid stepping into the culture war that Tuberville’s hold represents, as the junior senator seeks to end what his anti-abortion allies call “abortion tourism.”
McConnell in his prime would have ended the Alabama senator’s siege in a millisecond. He told reporters in early May, four months ago, he didn’t support what Tuberville is doing.
In the old days, before he suffered multiple falls and other health episodes signaled his vulnerability, those few words would have been treated as a command handed down from the mountaintop.
“Maybe if he was physically strong, he would exert stronger control or try to,” says Ira Shapiro, a former Senate aide and author of the 2022 book, Betrayal: How Mitch McConnell and the Senate Republicans Abandoned America, a critical look at McConnell’s iron-fisted rule as Senate leader. “It’s both a joke and a tragedy that someone with Tuberville’s lack of credentials can screw up so many nominations,” Shapiro told The Daily Beast.
With the Senate back in session this week and facing multiple challenges to fund the government, Tuberville’s blockade continues, and there are few available tools other than brass-knuckled leadership to stop him. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) could hold votes on the nearly 300 military leaders whose promotions Tuberville has stalled, but that would eat up valuable floor time and crowd out all other necessary business.
https://news.yahoo.com/tommy-tuberville-hissy-fit-shows-000449181.html?fr=sycsrp_catchall
It should be a national embarrassment, worthy of widespread outrage, that a former football coach and freshman senator from Alabama can hamstring military promotions for months without severe consequence.
Sen. Tommy Tuberville (R-AL) is holding scores of military appointments hostage because he doesn’t want the Pentagon to pay the travel costs for service members seeking abortion care.
Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin says military readiness is being compromised. If Tuberville doesn’t end his blockade, we won’t have a chairman of the joint chiefs after General Mark Milley’s term expires on Oct. 1. “Milley’s going to have to work overtime then,” Tuberville told CNN, making it clear he wouldn’t be backing down.
Which begs the question: Where does GOP Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) stand on Tuberville’s hostage-taking? The longest serving Senate leader in history is known for his ability to control his side of the aisle.
Why isn’t he putting an end to this nonsense?
The two most likely reasons are that he’s finally losing his iron grip over his caucus, or he has made a calculated decision to avoid stepping into the culture war that Tuberville’s hold represents, as the junior senator seeks to end what his anti-abortion allies call “abortion tourism.”
McConnell in his prime would have ended the Alabama senator’s siege in a millisecond. He told reporters in early May, four months ago, he didn’t support what Tuberville is doing.
In the old days, before he suffered multiple falls and other health episodes signaled his vulnerability, those few words would have been treated as a command handed down from the mountaintop.
“Maybe if he was physically strong, he would exert stronger control or try to,” says Ira Shapiro, a former Senate aide and author of the 2022 book, Betrayal: How Mitch McConnell and the Senate Republicans Abandoned America, a critical look at McConnell’s iron-fisted rule as Senate leader. “It’s both a joke and a tragedy that someone with Tuberville’s lack of credentials can screw up so many nominations,” Shapiro told The Daily Beast.
With the Senate back in session this week and facing multiple challenges to fund the government, Tuberville’s blockade continues, and there are few available tools other than brass-knuckled leadership to stop him. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) could hold votes on the nearly 300 military leaders whose promotions Tuberville has stalled, but that would eat up valuable floor time and crowd out all other necessary business.
https://news.yahoo.com/tommy-tuberville-hissy-fit-shows-000449181.html?fr=sycsrp_catchall
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