Republican Alabama football coach Tommy Tuberville’s ongoing block of promotions for all flag officers in the US military has left the US Marines without a Commandant for the first time in a century, CNN reports, creating a potential leadership vacuum that could impact national security.
General David Berger retired from his position Monday, and with Tuberville using his position as a Senator to block all confirmations at the committee level, his successor cannot be approved. Currently, more than 200 senior military positions are vacant because Tuberville wants to protest the military facilitating service members or their dependents obtaining an abortion. The government doesn’t pay for the abortion, but like all medical procedures unavailable on a base, the military compensates families who must travel to obtain a legal medical service.
“I told y’all all along if I thought this was a risk, I wouldn’t be doing this,” the first-term Senator said. “This is not a risk. We got people that can get the job done, and not just get it done, can do it the right way, and do it the best way for the American people.”