House Democrat Demands Hearing on Tuberville’s ‘Catastrophic’ Military Promotion Hold

'Allowing him to continue this campaign will have catastrophic national security effects,' Rep. Robert Garcia said of Tuberville's military holds

A House Democrat is clamoring for a committee hearing on the hundreds of military promotions that have been stalled in the Senate by Tommy Tuberville, arguing the Alabama Republican’s actions are “reckless.”

Rep. Robert Garcia, D-Calif., in a letter first shared with The Messenger, asked Rep. Glenn Grothman, R-Wisc., the chairman of the House Oversight Subcommittee on National Security, the Border and Foreign Affairs, to hold a hearing on the effects of Tuberville’s hold on military promotions.

“Senator Tuberville’s reckless actions have already harmed our national security,” Garcia said in the letter. “Allowing him to continue this campaign will have catastrophic national security effects.”

Tuberville’s hold on military promotions is in its seventh month, in protest over a Pentagon policy that reimburses travel expenses for service members who travel across state lines for legal reproductive care services. The policy has caught the ire of conservatives who oppose abortion, but Tuberville’s blockade of military promotions has been the most public and attention-catching protest of the policy. He has vowed he won't let up until the measure is taken away.

The hold by Tuberville, a single senator, has blocked the Senate from approving over 300 military promotions over the last year, putting less experienced officials into positions in a temporary capacity. Tubervill, however, has argued his actions haven’t affected the readiness of the U.S. military.

“The hold is still not affecting our readiness and it’s certainly not affecting the readiness of other countries,” Steve Stafford, Tuberville’s spokesperson, in a statement to The Hill earlier this month.

Tuberville and his allies have also argued that Democrats in the Senate could move to proceed with the promotions without needing Tuberville’s consent. But Democrats argue that the process  of confirming the hundreds of promotions would take weeks of the Senate’s time.