A prominent Republican senator is threatening to withhold all Defense Department nominations over senior leaders’ decision to provide furlough and travel expenses to help troops access abortion services.
The move comes as senior Pentagon officials raise concerns about several vacant senior positions, including the assistant secretary of defense for personnel and reserve affairs, a key post in recruiting and retention efforts, and the assistant secretary of defense for acquisition and retention, a key post for oversight of Stockpiles of weapons sent to Ukraine.
In a letter to Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin on Monday, Alabama Sen. Tommy Tuberville — a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee — said the move was intended to force military leaders to provide a rationale for the decision, which he said appears politically motivated . A briefing on this subject was scheduled for last month but was cancelled.
“This unprofessional behavior does not reflect well on your office or the Department of Defense,” Tuberville wrote. “Unfortunately, I expected this kind of delay and obfuscation from the Pentagon.”
A Tuberville office staffer said the senator will lift his grip after the briefing has taken place and any questions about the policy have been adequately answered.
At least nine senior Defense Department nominees are awaiting a full-chamber vote for confirmation, including Lester Martinez-Lopez, President Joe Biden’s pick for assistant secretary of defense for health affairs, and Radha Iyengar Plumb, the nominee for the earning and maintaining post.
In addition, the nominations of Nickolas Guertin for Assistant Secretary of the Navy and Ronald Keohane for Assistant Secretary of Defense for Personnel and Reserve Affairs are pending before the Armed Services Committee.
The Pentagon Legislative Affairs team has been lobbying to ensure that nominations at least continue since lawmakers returned to Washington after the midterm elections.
Earlier last month, Deputy Press Secretary Sabrina Singh told reporters that Congress has lagged behind in confirming Pentagon candidates during the Trump administration and that it is impeding national security.
“We’re a bit paralyzed here, and that’s why we’re pushing the Senate to confirm these nominees because they play a critical role in managing recruitment, our budget and the physical health of the force,” Singh said. “We believe these nominees are fully capable and have bipartisan support. I mean they got voted out [armed services] committee.”
Tuberville’s influence amounts to another headache for Pentagon leaders hoping to fill senior positions. They have already dealt with delays and frustrations over confirmation votes due to other lockdowns, including multiple deadlocks from Sen. Josh Hawley, R-Mo., who has called for resignations and firings of senior administration officials over mistakes in the 2021 withdrawal from Afghanistan.
Hawley has said he will not budge from the candidates until the Senate Armed Services Committee hosts a hearing on Afghanistan, a move likely to happen next year in the Republican-controlled House of Representatives but not in the Democrat-controlled Senate .
On Tuesday, Sen. James Lankford, R-Okla, said he would also withhold all defense candidates over the issue of mandatory military vaccinations.
The Biden administration’s handling of abortion access issues in recent months has infuriated Republican lawmakers, prompting threats to withdraw funding from government agencies or suspend operations until steps are lifted.
In October, Austin released a memo saying that senior leaders “must ensure our service members and their families have access to reproductive health care,” regardless of where they are stationed.
Concerns about the troops’ access to abortion services have increased since the Supreme Court ruled in Roe v. Wade repealed the 1973 law that legalized abortion nationwide. Since then, more than two dozen states have attempted to ban or limit the process, with many of these cases currently the subject of litigation.
Austin’s memo allows pregnant military members to take time off to travel abroad for an abortion if they cannot legally have the procedure in the state where they are stationed. The department also reimburses travel expenses.
Tuberville called the timing of the decision, announced just weeks before the midterm elections, “suspicious.”
Although the positions awaiting confirmed leaders have been filled by senior civilians on a deputy basis, Singh said confirmed political appointments are better placed to direct the bureaus’ operations.
If the nominees are not confirmed by the end of the current Congress, Biden would have to nominate them again. The Senate is expected to wrap up its work for the year by December 16, but could return for a few more days of legislative work before the end of the month.
Reporter Bryant Harris contributed to this story.
Leo covers Congress, Veterans Affairs and the White House for Military Times. He has been covering Washington, DC, since 2004, focusing on military personnel and veteran politics. His work has received numerous awards including a 2009 Polk Award, a 2010 National Headliner Award, the IAVA Leadership in Journalism Award and the VFW News Media Award.
Joe Gould is the senior Pentagon reporter for Defense News, covering the intersection of national security policy, government and the defense industry. He was previously a convention reporter.