Here’s why Sen. Tuberville is back to blocking a military nomination

Alabama Sen. Tommy Tuberville recently resorted to his previously tried and tested strategy of military blockades. This time, he was protesting the military promotion of an aide to Defense Secretary Lloyd J. Austin III.
President Joe Biden tapped the aide, Army Lt. Gen. Ronald P. Clark, for a promotion to be the four-star commander of all U.S. Army forces in the Pacific, according to The Washington Post, which first reported Tuberville’s block on approval of the promotion.
Tuberville’s more than 10-months-long hold on roughly 450 senior military promotions ended in December last year.
In 2023, Tuberville opposed the Pentagon’s abortion-related policy that allows active-duty service members to receive a reimbursement for abortion-related travel, and blocked nominations as a form of protest. This time, Tuberville has taken issue with Clark in particular.
Upon the defense secretary’s hospitalization on Jan. 1, following complications from surgery in December, Austin’s office, including Clark, did not disclose the information to the White House or Congress until days later. Austin’s doctors later revealed he was being treated for cancer, according to CNN.
The Alabama senator told Politico that he wants to learn more about Clark’s involvement at the time of Austin’s hospitalization.
“Everybody wants information on why,” Tuberville said. “We need a full understanding of why he did what he did, and not inform the commander-in-chief of the problem.”
“This is not just one person. I mean this is, Democrat and Republican wanting to know what the heck happened here,” he said. “And the American people need the truth here. Why did we not have full disclosure of what happened? And so once we get that, we’ll be good.”
A spokesperson from Tuberville’s office said the senator is awaiting the release of a review from the office of the Pentagon’s inspector general.
“As a senior commissioned officer, Lt. Gen. Clark’s oath requires him to notify (the president) when the chain of command is compromised,” the spokesperson added, as per Axios.
The Defense Department’s unclassified 30-day review found Austin’s military assistants agreed to initial a ‘transfer of authorities’ to Deputy Secretary Kathleen Hicks.
“Although Deputy Secretary Hicks, when informed of the ‘transfer of authority’ to her, was not notified of Secretary Austin’s hospitalization, she was at all times positioned to perform all the functions and duties of the Secretary,” the review stated.
As CNN reported, James Adams, a Pentagon spokesman, defended Clark, saying he is “highly qualified” for the promotion and “was nominated for this critical position because of his experience and strategic expertise.
Clark has previously served as commander of U.S. Army Central, the Army’s 25th Infantry Division, and chief of staff for U.S. Army Pacific, the report added.
“We urge the Senate to confirm all of our qualified nominees,” Adams said. “These holds undermine our military readiness.”