US Marine Corps Embroiled by Culture War

The culture war has touched the United States Marine Corps after Senator Tommy Tuberville (R-Ala.) has blocked over 250 fast-tracked military promotions in the Senate. One of the most controversial is the refusal to name a new Marine Commandant in the wake of Gen. David Berger putting in his retirement. Senator Tuberville is refusing to find a new Commandant, as well as move the 250 promotions through, in protest over the Pentagon’s abortion policy. The Pentagon’s post Dobbs abortion policy pays for the travel and time off needed to procure an abortion if the soldier in question is stationed in a state that restricts or bans the procedure.

Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman General Mark Milley and Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin have said such a decision is disastrous for the Military. Defense Secretary Austin said of the delay caused by this protest “Smooth and timely transitions of confirmed leadership are central to the defense of the United States and to the full strength of the most powerful fighting force in history.” Tuberville reaffirmed his stances in a statement, “The burden is on the administration to stop breaking the law. I will keep my hold, I will keep it on, until the Pentagon follows the law or changes the law. It’s that simple. Those are the two conditions that would get me to drop the hold. So, until these conditions are met, I object."

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The only way for the Senate to break Tuberville’s blockade of the promotions is for Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer to file cloture and schedule one-by-one votes. This is a serious problem as it would backlog the Senate with over 250 promotions awaiting approval and many more on the way. Schumer is also relying on Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell and Senate Republicans to push Tuberville back in line. “It’s up to them. They have to put the pressure on [Mr. Tuberville] to back off.” Tuberville said of the Democrats, “If the Democrats are so worried about Gen. Smith being an acting official, then let’s vote.” General Berger said of the conflict in the Senate’s back and forth on the issue, "We need the Senate to do their job so we can have a sitting commandant that’s appointed and confirmed."

Senator Tuberville believes that he is not violating the military's readiness as there is a temporary fill-in for the position. Gen. Eric Smith, the assistant commandant of the Marine Corps, took over as acting commandant on Monday after General David Berger’s retirement ceremony. However, this leaves gaps in the command structure as Smith will not have a second-in-command. Smith will be retaining his position as second-in-command while filling the Commandants role, working two jobs as one man. This has caused concern by the Joint Chiefs of Staff as they are expecting the retirement of Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman, Air Force Gen. Charles Quinton Brown Jr., in the near future with no replacement slated to be filled so long as the protest continues.