Tuberville impedes advancement in military rank for senior Austin advisor
"Senator Tuberville has issues with Lt. Gen. Clark's actions during Secretary Austin's medical leave," shared Tuberville's representative Mallory Jaspers with CNN. "Lt. Gen. Clark was aware that Sec. Austin was incapacitated but failed to inform the President. As a high-ranking officer, Lt. Gen. Clark's duty is to inform the President whenever the command chain is disrupted."
However, this situation is quite different from when Tuberville put a halt on all military promotions in 2020 unless the Pentagon amended its abortion policy. A source informed CNN that this current nomination, now being considered, can still be resolved through parliamentary maneuvers and isn't as numerous as last year's stack.
The publication of a Pentagon inspector general's report might also influence the confirmation process and speed. The investigation was initiated earlier this year to examine whether the Pentagon has the necessary policies in place to manage a smooth transition of authority and responsibilities following Austin's unannounced hospitalizations.
Jaspers stated that Tuberville is "looking forward to the forthcoming IG report."
The Washington Post initially reported on the halt.
CNN has attempted to receive a comment from the Pentagon.
Secretary Austin was hospitalized on January 1 due to complications from a prostate cancer operation carried out in December. The Pentagon kept the media in the dark until January 5, despite Austin's critical condition. It was later disclosed that Austin hadn't informed Congress or the White House about his diagnosis, initial operation, or subsequent complications and hospitalization.
The lack of communication led to a political uproar on Capitol Hill. Austin was interrogated by members of Congress during a hearing in February focused on his delay in informing both Congress and President Joe Biden about his location — with Republicans being particularly aggressive in their questioning of Austin.
Austin declared in a statement in July that President Biden had nominated Clark, who currently serves as Austin's senior military assistant, for the position of commanding general of US Army Pacific.
Now that the nomination is under discussion, the majority leader Chuck Schumer could call for a vote and use time to confirm the nominee, as Tuberville can't halt the process alone anymore.
Tuberville faced pressure from both political parties for several months in 2020 to lift the blanket halt on military promotions, which began in March and blocked the confirmations of over 450 top military candidates. Top military leaders, including Air Force Secretary Frank Kendall, Navy Secretary Carlos Del Toro, and Army Secretary Christine Wormuth shared their concerns with CNN at the time that the holds were benefiting US adversaries.
Tuberville insisted that he wanted the Pentagon to cancel its post-Roe v. Wade policy offering financial support to service members traveling out-of-state for reproductive services, including abortions.
He eventually lifted the majority of his holds towards the end of last year, enabling hundreds of military nominations to be approved.
CNN's Oren Liebermann and Haley Britzky contributed to this report.
The political fallout from Secretary Austin's absence due to his health issues made Senator Tuberville vocal about the importance of adhering to the chain of command, especially in such situations. Despite this, Tuberville's stance on military promotions in 2020, when he halted them until the Pentagon amended its abortion policy, was also a matter of politics.
