Tuberville is in an uproar after hundreds of military personnel are being held “hostage” for abortion

Sen. Tammy Duckworth (D-Ill.) on Sunday slammed fellow Sen. Tommy Tuberville (R-Ala.) for his persistent blocking of military nominations, saying the Alabama Republican is holding “the national security of the entire nation hostage.”

Tuberville has for months refused to endorse some 200 military officer promotions because of Pentagon policy offers travel expense reimbursements and permission for service members to have out-of-state abortions, updated after the Supreme Court overturned the landmark Roe v. Wade had voted.

The Republican senator called on Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin to withdraw the effort and vowed to stand in the way of the usual unanimous consent process for approving military promotions, prompting the ire of his peers. Tuberville also said he would allow promotions to proceed if Democrats voted on legislation ending Pentagon policy, even if there was broad guarantee the legislation would fail, but the party has refused to do so to do.

Duckworth told MSNBC on Sunday that Tuberville is putting the nation’s security at risk “for his personal social agenda.”

“There is a process that can change that policy,” Duckworth, a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, said on the broadcaster’s The Sunday Show, citing the National Defense Authorization Act, which is passed each year by Congress. “But instead he stalls the transportation of hundreds of generals as hostages, and these are people who, as you know, are going to be the general in charge of all of the Army’s logistics… He puts our national security for his personal social.” Agenda really at stake.” ”

Tuberville has argued that Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (DN.Y.) could bring nominations into the plenary individually, but that would require votes for each candidate rather than a traditional unanimous approval measure.

have his actions frustrated lawmakers on both sides of the aisle, including Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.). Austin also wrote to lawmakers earlier in the month, saying Tuberville’s actions constituted a “clear risk on US military readiness,” adding that in the past not a single senator had stopped so many officers. He said the stop could affect up to 650 officers According to the Associated Press, this must be confirmed by the Senate by the end of the year.

“The denial of the recommendation for promotions is actually creating a ripple effect through the force that is making us far less ready than we need to be,” Austin told lawmakers in March.

Tuberville has defended his efforts accused the Pentagon in recent weeks provide “Taxpayer-funded abortions” violate federal law and promise to stand in the way until the Pentagon changes course. In a tweet on Sunday, he again stood by his actions.

“No matter how much misinformation the Democrats spread, I will continue to stand up to the most politicized Pentagon in American history,” he wrote.

The Pentagon announced its updated policies in February and announced this Pay military travel expenses Out of state for abortion care and granting of up to three weeks of administrative leave. Austin has defended the policy, saying thousands of women in the military are forced to live in areas where reproductive health care is restricted.