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Secretary of the Navy Carlos Del Toro strongly criticized Senator Tommy Tuberville (R-Alabama) for his ongoing hold on military promotions, accusing the senator of undermining American military readiness.
Del Toro, who was born in Cuba, expressed disbelief that a U.S. senator would obstruct military promotions, likening it to aiding autocratic regimes. He argued that Tuberville’s actions are negatively impacting combat readiness.
“As someone who was born in a communist country, I never would have imagined that actually one of our own senators would actually be aiding and abetting communist and other autocratic regimes,” Del Toro said in an CNN interview.
“This is having a real negative impact and will continue to have a real negative impact on our combat readiness,” he continued.
Senator Tuberville’s hold on military officer promotions, lasting for six months, is in protest of the Department of Defense’s policy regarding expenses for military service members seeking abortion care. This move has faced criticism from Democrats, the White House, military leaders, advocates, and even voters in Alabama. Despite efforts from fellow Republicans to negotiate an end to the protest, Tuberville has not relented.
Secretary of the Air Force Frank Kendall also condemned Tuberville’s promotion block. “What Sen. Tuberville is doing, is doing significant damage to our national security,” he said.
Kendall, along with Del Toro and Secretary of the Army Christine Wormuth, penned an op-ed in The Washington Post calling on Tuberville to end his protest. They argued that delaying promotions could lead many talented military personnel to leave the service for better opportunities elsewhere.
“Any claim that holding up the promotions of top officers does not directly damage the military is wrong — plain and simple,” they wrote.
The lack of promotions could lead many of the military’s brightest to leave the service for better employment elsewhere, the secretaries argued.
“Throughout our careers in national security, we have deeply valued the bipartisan support shown for our service members and their families,” the secretaries continued. “But rather than seeking a resolution to this impasse in that spirit, Tuberville has suggested he is going to further escalate this confrontation by launching baseless political attacks against these men and women.”
Overall, Del Toro and his fellow secretaries expressed concern that Tuberville’s actions are harming the military and urged him to reconsider his stance.
