Tim Scott: 'Not Necessarily A Bad Thing' To Block Hundreds Of Biden's Military Nominees

Sen. Tim Scott (R-S.C.) said Thursday that an ongoing GOP blockade of hundreds of President Joe Biden’s military nominees may actually be a good thing for America since Biden has been trying to bring more diversity into the nation’s military.

In an interview with conservative radio show host Hugh Hewitt, Scott, who is running for president, was asked if he supports Sen. Tommy Tuberville (R-Ala.) in blocking more than 300 military nominations in protest of the Pentagon’s policy on providing abortion-related travel. Tuberville has been leaning on Senate procedural rules since February to derail their confirmations.

Troops avoid abortion travel policy fueling Tuberville blockade

Republican Sen. Tommy Tuberville has blocked hundreds of military promotions over a single policy that allows troops access to abortions, creating turmoil within the Pentagon and even his own party.

But few actually use the program.

Only a small number of service members have taken advantage of the year-old rule that offers paid leave and travel reimbursement to troops seeking abortions and other reproductive care, according to the Pentagon.

Nikki Haley Rips Defense Department Amid Tommy Tuberville Blockade: It 'Started This'

GOP presidential candidate Nikki Haley took aim at the Defense Department for beginning a policy at the center of Sen. Tommy Tuberville’s (R-Ala.) hold on 300-plus military promotions in the Senate. (Check out Haley’s remarks in the video below.)

In an interview with CNN’s Jake Tapper, the former South Carolina governor said the department “never should have done” the policy that reimburses service members who travel to get an abortion in another state, which is what Tuberville is protesting with his holds.

Tuberville ‘paralyzing’ Pentagon, House Foreign Affairs chair says

Rep. Michael McCaul (R-Texas) repeatedly said Sunday that Sen. Tommy Tuberville’s one-person blockade of military nominations was “paralyzing” the Defense Department.

“To hold up the top brass from being promoted and lower brass, I think, is paralyzing our Department of Defense,” said McCaul, chair of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, on CNN’s “State of the Union.”

Dems must ‘turn up the heat’ on Tuberville, Warren says

Sen. Elizabeth Warren is urging her Democratic colleagues to ramp up the pressure on Sen. Tommy Tuberville as he continues to block hundreds of military promotions because of the Pentagon’s abortion policies.

While Democrats have individually spoken out against the Alabama Republican, “it’s time for us to turn up the heat on that and for all of the Democrats to be involved,” Warren (D-Mass.) said Thursday morning on MSNBC, adding that “there is no dissension” on the topic among Democrats.

Sen. Tommy Tuberville Says He's Worried About Sailors Reciting Poetry On Ships

Sen. Tommy Tuberville (R-Ala.) said Wednesday that poetry is proof the Navy needs to root out “wokeness.” (Watch the video below.)

“We’ve got people doing poems on aircraft carriers over the loudspeaker,” he said to Laura Ingraham on Fox News Wednesday.

The right-wing senator has been widely criticized for blocking military promotions to protest the Pentagon’s policy of supplying service members with paid leave and travel costs to get an abortion in another state.

Secretary of Navy: Tuberville ‘aiding and abetting communists’ with military blockade

The leaders of three branches of the U.S. military slammed Sen. Tommy Tuberville (R-Ala.) over his monthslong blockade of senior military promotions Tuesday, with one accusing the Republican senator of “aiding and abetting communists.”

“For someone who was born in a communist country, I would have never imagined that actually one of our own senators would actually be aiding and abetting communists and other autocratic regimes around the world,” Navy Secretary Carlos Del Toro — a Cuban-born Navy veteran — said Tuesday during an interview on CNN alongside Air Force Secretary Frank Kendall and Army Secretary Christine Wormuth.