Schumer’s Cave On Military Nominations Shows His Attacks On Tuberville Were Always Political
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer filed cloture on a series of military nominations on Wednesday, all but admitting he’s had the power to do so in spite of his attacks against Alabama Sen. Tommy Tuberville over the latter’s protest of the Pentagon’s abortion policy.
For months, Schumer and Democrats have attacked Tuberville for using his position on the Senate Armed Services Committee to slow-walk military personnel moves requiring Senate confirmation. Tuberville did this to protest the Pentagon’s use of taxpayer money to cover service members’ abortion-related travel expenses.
Despite possessing the power to bring these nominations to the Senate floor for a confirmation vote, Schumer has spent months attacking Tuberville and pushing baseless claims the Republican senator’s protest is putting “American security in jeopardy.” Schumer’s filing on the nominations of Air Force Gen. Charles Q. Brown, Marine Corps Gen. Eric Smith, and Army Gen. Randy George, however, is a tacit admission by the Senate majority leader that he’s had the ability to bypass Tuberville’s protest all along.
According to The Daily Caller, the “‘cloture’ motions would, if approved by at least 60 senators, limit debate on the nominations to 18 hours and lead to a final confirmation vote.”
The motion on Brown’s nomination was approved by the Senate by an 89-8 vote Wednesday evening.
“Instead of voting, Democrats have spent months complaining about having to vote,” Tuberville said during a speech on the Senate floor. “Sen. Schumer could have confirmed these nominees a long, long time ago. … I didn’t come [to Congress] just to outsource my job to the Pentagon or the White House. Yet, that’s exactly what Democrats want to do.”
“This is a win … for the legislative branch of government,” he added.
[RELATED: Don’t Ask Tommy Tuberville Why The Senate’s Not Voting On Military Nominations. Ask Chuck Schumer]
Schumer has hardly acted alone in his attacks on Tuberville. In recent months, high-ranking military officials, including Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, have repeated the baseless accusation that the Alabama senator’s protest was harming “military readiness” and jeopardized “national security.” Of course, none of these officials ever called on the Pentagon to abandon its policy of forcing U.S. taxpayers to subsidize the murder of unborn children. Nor did they voice concerns about “military readiness” when the military fired over 8,400 U.S. service members for choosing not to receive the Covid jab.
Shawn Fleetwood is a staff writer for The Federalist and a graduate of the University of Mary Washington. He previously served as a state content writer for Convention of States Action and his work has been featured in numerous outlets, including RealClearPolitics, RealClearHealth, and Conservative Review. Follow him on Twitter @ShawnFleetwood
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