The US Marine Corps commander’s term ends Monday, with no successor named. In question: the blanket freeze on senior military appointments, passed by an anti-abortion Republican senator.
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That MP, Tommy Tuberville, claims he will continue until the Pentagon reverses its policy of supporting women soldiers who must travel within the United States to have an abortion.
If the Senate can still approve these appointments in the plenary assembly on a case-by-case basis, the suspension of this mandate holder as a member of the Armed Forces Commission prevents direct and group ratification within this commission.
According to his team, he has been preventing the approval of more than 200 nominations for months.
Elected from Alabama, a very conservative state in the southern United States, Tommy Tuberville says the Pentagon’s policy of supporting soldiers who want an abortion is illegal.
For Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin, on the other hand, it rests on a solid legal basis. In addition, the minister believes that delaying the inauguration of these top military officials “endangers America’s national security and hinders the normal operations of the Pentagon.”
At the end of his tenure as Chief of the Marines on Monday, General David Berger will be replaced on an interim basis by his deputy, General Eric Smith.
For Colin Smith, an expert on defense issues at the Rand Think Tank, General Smith needs to “double duty” and combine his current role with that of acting commander.
“Unnecessary” risk
Other senior military officials will leave their posts in the coming months, including the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Gen. Mark Milley, and Chief of Naval Operations, Admiral Mike Gilday.
“Without these leaders, US forces will face unnecessary and unprecedented risk at a time when our adversaries may test our resolve,” Secretary Lloyd Austin wrote in a letter to Senator Elizabeth Warren in early May.
In June 2022, the United States Supreme Court overturned the constitutional guarantee of American women’s right to abortion, leaving each state free to legislate on the issue.
Some servicewomen stationed in states where most cases of abortion are now illegal are now forced to travel to states where the procedure is still legal.
In response to the Supreme Court ruling, Lloyd Austin issued an order for the Pentagon to take action to make it easier for service members to take administrative leave to “receive uncovered reproductive health care.” Establishing allowances to cover travel expenses for these military personnel.
In mid-February, Tommy Tuberville denounced a “radical project that aims to make thousands of abortions possible every year with taxpayer money,” which is why he is blocking Senate occupations.
According to him, the lockdown has “no impact” on the level of operational readiness of the American armed forces.
The Alabama elected official has already warned that his position will remain unchanged “until the Pentagon respects the law or changes the law.”
” As simple as that. “