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Democratic Sen. Tim Kaine said Friday that he believes Republicans will get their colleague, Sen. Tommy Tuberville of Alabama, to end his blockade of military promotions.
Speaking to reporters, the Virginia lawmaker said he had a hard time believing GOP leadership would continue allowing Tuberville to hold up hundreds of nominations in protest of the Pentagon’s abortion policy.
“I think there’s going to be a point where the Republicans will not enable this destructive behavior,” said Kaine, a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee. “They’ll eventually see in the mirror that this doesn’t look good, and they will figure out a way to make this right.”
Tuberville has been standing strong in his obstruction of the promotions, citing a new Department of Defense rule that reimburses service members and their dependents who travel out of state to receive an abortion.
Other additions to the Pentagon’s policy book include shielding soldier’s reproductive health information and monetarily assisting affiliate healthcare providers that face civil or criminal penalties from red states.
Kaine said Tuberville’s maneuver would not be allowed in the Democratic Caucus.
“If I did this, [Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer] would threaten to kick me off the Armed Services Committee,” he said.
A similar cost, Kaine predicted, could be proposed by Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, who expressed his public disapproval of Tuberville’s actions earlier this year.
“I don’t support putting a hold on military nominations; I don’t support that,” the Kentucky Republican stated in May, according to The Hill.
Luca Cacciatore ✉
Luca Cacciatore is a general assignment writer at Newsmax based in Arlington, Virginia, reporting on news and politics. He is an inaugural fellow at American Moment and previously served as chief editor of the New Conservatives publication.