President Joe Biden doubled down on his sharp criticism of Alabama Sen. Tommy Tuberville’s monthslong hold on military nominations, declaring the move is causing “a growing cascade of damage and disruption.” 

What You Need To Know

  • President Joe Biden doubled down on his sharp criticism of Sen. Tommy Tuberville’s, R-Ala., months-long hold on military nominations, declaring the move is causing “A growing cascade of damage and disruption"  
  • Tuberville's one-man blockade is in response to a Pentagon policy that pays travel expenses for service members who are force dto travel out-of-state to obtain an abortion

  • Biden specifically mentioned his picks to be the next Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and Chief of Naval Operations are still waiting to get the green light amid Tuberville’s hold

  • The president’s fresh criticisms came on the same night Congress wrapped up its work ahead of the August recess; both chambers are now out for the next month, only adding to questions about how and when this will come to an end

Tuberville's one-man blockade is in response to a Pentagon policy that pays travel expenses for service members who are forced to travel out-of-state to obtain an abortion.

The “dangerous” hold is “all because one senator from Alabama and 48 Republicans who refuse to stand up to him,” Biden said, avoiding mentioning Tuberville, who he once referred to as “the former football coach from Alabama," by name. 

“The Republican Party used to always support the military. But today, they are undermining the military,” he said.

The comments came at the Truman Civil Rights Symposium in Washington, D.C., where Biden delivered a speech commemorating the 75th anniversary of the desegregation of the military on Thursday night. 

The Biden administration and Democratic lawmakers have been saying for weeks that Tuberville’s unprecedented hold on more than 270 promotions is hurting the military. 

“This partisan freeze is already harming military readiness, security, leadership, and troop morale; freezing pay, freezing people in place,” Biden said on Thursday. 

The president specifically mentioned his picks to be the next Chariman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, General C.Q. Brown, and Chief of Naval Operations, Admiral Lisa Franchetti, are still waiting to get the green light amid Tuberville’s hold.

Biden pointed out Brown would be the first African American to lead any branch of the Armed Service and Franchetti would be the first woman to hold the Chief of Naval Operations title. 

“Right now, tens of thousands of America’s daughters and sons are deployed around the world tonight keeping us safe from immense national security challenges. But the senator from Alabama is not,” Biden said, pointing out that the U.S. Marine Corps is without a leader for the first time in a century due to Tuberville’s hold. 

This week, the Secure Families Initiative, an organization advocating for military families, delivered a petition with over 500 signatures from military spouses calling for an end to Tuberville’s blockade. 

“No matter your political beliefs, we must agree that service members and military families will not be used as political leverage,” the petition read in part. 

The president’s fresh criticisms came on the same night Congress wrapped up its work ahead of the August recess. Both chambers are now out for the next month, only adding to questions about how and when this will come to an end. 

Punchbowl News reported Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., told the outlet the blockade is “hard on families” and he hopes for a “breakthrough in the fall.” 

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., told Punchbowl News he believes “pressure is going to mount on Tuberville” during the August break. 

Tuberville told CNN this week that despite taking fire from the other side, he is “doing it for the right reasons.” 

The Alabama senator has spoken more than once with Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin about the blockade, but no movement has appeared to come out of the conversations. 

Senators in both parties — including Minority Leader Mitch McConnell — have pushed back on Tuberville’s blockade, but the Alabama lawmaker is dug in. He says he won’t drop the holds unless Democrats in the majority allow a vote on the policy.

Democrats who serve on the Senate Armed Services Committee with Tuberville wrote a letter to McConnell this week urging the Kentucky Republican to take action, saying that the hold is threatening military readiness and national security.

"We know you share our concerns about the consequences of this hold on our Armed Services, and as the leader of your conference, we urge you to take stronger action to resolve this situation," the letter reads, per NBC News.

For now, the fight is at a stalemate. Democrats say a vote on every nominee could tie up the Senate floor for months, and they don’t want to give in to Tuberville’s demands and encourage similar blockades of nominees in the future. 

The Associated Press contributed to this report.