(The Government Accountability Office plans to look into the consequences of a nearly 10-month hold on most military promotions by Sen. Tommy Tuberville, R-Ala., that was done to protest the woke Defense Department’s funding of abortions for servicewomen.
The GAO, which serves as the research arm of Congress, agreed to a request from Democrats to look into the matter after Tuberville’s nine-month-long protest blocked promotions for more than 425 senior military leaders.
Under pressure from fellow Republicans, the former Auburn football coach ended his hold on promotions in December 2023, despite not getting what he wanted.
Reps. Jamie Raskin, D-Md., and Robert Garcia, D-Calif., had asked U.S. Comptroller General Gene Dodaro, head of the GAO, to review the blockade of military promotions, including the short- and long-term effects on national security.
“We accepted the request and the work is expected to begin shortly,” a GAO spokesperson told the Center Square on Tuesday.
Dodaro has been with the GAO since 1973 and was promoted to comptroller in March 2008, under then-President George W. Bush, suggesting that his review—unlike many of the Biden administration’s lawfare attacks on Republicans using the weaponized adminisrative state—will not be politically motivated.
Tuberville, a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, made his stand in response to Pentagon policy that allowed service members time off and pay to travel to other states for abortions. That Biden administration policy was enacted after the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade in June 2022.
Under U.S. law, generals and admirals of the five armed services require Senate confirmation.
Raskin and Garcia wrote in their letter that the blockade “created a damaging ripple effect on the careers of service members at all levels” and that “such career stagnation radiates massive effects on factors such as servicemember retention, pay, pension, and future opportunities.”
An email sent to Tuberville’s press office on Tuesday wasn’t immediately returned.
