(LifeSiteNews) — Alabama Republican Sen. Tommy Tuberville is wrong to wield political power to try to force the Biden administration to rescind its abortion travel fund for military members, Nikki Haley said recently.
The presidential candidate, who is polling around seven percent, told Jake Tapper on CNN that she opposes Sen. Tuberville’s hold on military promotions. Tuberville objects to a Pentagon memo that created, without congressional approval, a new policy of funding abortion travel for military members.
The Senate could override his hold by scheduling votes on each officer promotion, but such a plan could take days, if not weeks, and slow down other legislative work.
There are roughly 300 military promotions on hold.
“Let’s speak hard truths,” Haley said. She said she opposes the “reimbursement policy” and would end it as president, but then went on to explain why she opposes efforts to stop it now.
“Secondly, we don’t need to be using military families as political pawns,” Haley said. Her husband is deployed in Africa with the South Carolina National Guard.
Haley then agreed with Tuberville that Sen. Schumer could end the policy by holding a vote. Tapper referenced the “tradition” that the Senate unanimously approves the promotions in a voice vote.
“You really want to have the U.S. Senate voting on somebody being promoted [through the ranks]?” Tapper asked. The current law prescribes this mechanism.
“Shouldn’t Department of Defense do things the right way?” Haley asked, before repeating again that she opposes Sen. Tuberville’s efforts.
“I want Congress to do their job,” Haley said, pivoting to issues such as gas prices.
Her comments reiterate her past opposition to Tuberville’s strategy, though she said that she “appreciate[s]” what he is doing, just not in practice.
She told Hugh Hewitt in August:
And you know, I appreciate what Tuberville’s trying to do. I do. Like it’s totally wrong that the Department of Defense is doing this
But have we gotten so low that this is how we have to go about stopping it? I mean, at what point can we not go and have, you know, Congressional members go to the Department of Defense and say look, you have to go through Congress if you’re going to do this. You can’t suddenly decide you’re going to do this.
Don’t hold, you know, don’t make us have to do this. I just think it shouldn’t get to this point.
“And you know, for my husband who’s serving overseas, and for all those military men and women, the idea that this is what they’re looking back and seeing, and this is what they are dealing with on top of the stresses of keeping themselves safe and being away from their families, it’s wrong,” Haley said.