North Cook News

On July 15, Sen. Tammy Duckworth (D-Ill) took to Twitter to accuse Sen. Tommy Tuberville (R-Alabama) of failing U.S. troops and military families.

"For months now, thanks to one man who has never served in uniform a day in his life, the United States Senate has been failing our troops and military families," Duckworth tweeted. "Enough. In my new @msnbc op-ed, I'm calling on Senator Tuberville to end this charade."

Duckworth included a link to an editorial she had written for MSNBC about how Tuberville is blocking roughly 250 military promotions.

"In March, Senator Tommy Tuberville, R-Ala., began blocking all senior Department of Defense nominations, protesting a Defense Department policy that helps service members stationed in anti-choice states travel for basic reproductive care," she wrote. "With that decision, my Republican colleague effectively told the country that his own anti-choice agenda was worth jeopardizing our military readiness and our national security. Since that day, Tuberville’s partisan charade has stalled roughly 250 military promotions. And as of this week, his stunt has left the United States Marine Corps without a commandant for the first time since before World War I."

Duckworth said that the Defense Department is not funding abortions. Instead, it is basically allowing military members reimbursements for travel where they can receive a wide variety of health care services, including abortions.

"Sen. Tuberville isn’t doing this out of concern over the qualifications of the nominees," Duckworth said. "No. He’s endangering our national security because he’s so anxious to earn a pat on the back from Fox News. So my question is, precisely when do anti-choice folks like Tuberville think that we military women no longer have that basic human right to make our own decisions about our own health?"

Duckworth said Tuberville's actions are affecting military readiness.

"He’s injected politics into what should be an entirely nonpartisan promotions process, as his extremist stance on women’s rights blocks talented nominees from taking on the challenges of their next positions, leaves critical gaps in our military leadership and impairs our military readiness," she said.