Capito: Republican Senator Is Wrong To Block Military Promotions

U.S. Sen. Shelley Moore Capito says military promotions have been stalled because of one senator, and she disagrees with his approach.

For months, U.S. Sen. Tommy Tuberville has blocked hundreds of high-ranking military officers from promotion. The Alabama Republican has done so in protest of a Pentagon policy that allows the federal government to reimburse travel expenses for out-of-state abortions for servicemembers.

While she agrees with Tuberville on the policy question, Capito says she doesn’t think holding up military promotions is the way to resolve the dispute, especially with global conflicts raging. 

“Sen. Tuberville has picked the wrong people to hold accountable,” she said. “These are not the ones that are decisionmakers or policymakers at the DOD.”

Though the Senate confirmed three promotions on Thursday, Tuberville objected to 61 others late Wednesday, drawing the ire of his and Capito’s fellow Republican senators.

Still, Capito wouldn’t commit to a proposal from Democrats to bypass Tuberville’s objections. Democrats would need nine Republicans to vote with them to achieve that.

Those confirmed Wednesday include Navy Adm. Lisa Franchetti, the first woman to serve as a Pentagon service chief and the first woman to join the Joint Chiefs of Staff.