NORFOLK, Va. — Sen. Tommy Tuberville (R-Alabama) continues to block hundreds of military members from being promoted through Senate confirmation.
Members of Congress who represent Hampton Roads say his holds need to end.
"He has been unable to convince his colleagues that he's right and he's just punishing people who have nothing to do with the policy he doesn't like," Sen. Tim Kaine (D-Virginia) said.
Tuberville has been holding up promotions for more than 300 military officers over a Dept. of Defense policy that lets service members get travel or transportation allowances if they seek abortion care in other states.
Rep. Jen Kiggans (R-Virginia) doesn't like the Dept. of Defense policy either, but said Tuberville should make his point in a different way.
She told News 3 she's heard from local service members and their families who are frustrated about the holds.
"I have heard from - on a more personal level - from spouses at air shows, at the Langley Air Show we were at a couple of months ago, who came up to me and said, 'You know, we're getting out of the military because of this and you need to know that the people that are in line to replace us are also wanting to get out," said Kiggans.
Local spouses are watching this as well. "It's affecting military families in the sense of quality of life," said Alexis McDonald, a Navy spouse who's also a Government Affairs Specialist with the Secure Families Initiative.
Summer is a time when military families may be changing jobs and preparing to move, so the holds are making that tougher.
"[It's] three, four, five, six times as hard as it needs to be, especially if you have young children or kids who are in high school going to college," said McDonald.
Tuberville has not backed down from his stance. "The American military is not a social justice program. It is not a social justice program. It is not a jobs program. The military is not an equal opportunity employer. It never has been and it shouldn't be. The American military is the world's greatest killing machine," he said in a recent speech on the U.S. Senate floor.
Tuberville did not serve in the military. Kiggans, who is a Navy veteran, worries the holds are hurting retention at a time when recruiting is already down.
"We're seeing people that are moving up in ranks asking the same questions: Do I want to stay? Is this kind of chaos worth it?" she said.
Sen. Kaine's office told News 3 that 39 of the positions are based in Virginia, including 25 in Hampton Roads.
"I think that it's needlessly impacting military readiness at this point. This has been going on for six months and there's a better way to push an agenda item," said Kiggans.
For now, Tuberville is standing his ground.
"If my Democratic colleagues and the Biden administration continue to inject politics in our military, then our children and our grandchildren will have to live in a much more dangerous world," he said.
Local spouses are continuing to follow the holds.
"Military spouses are talking about this. We're watching how those who are in charge of our service members' everyday lives are just essentially playing games," said McDonald.
Despite the holds from Tuberville, the Senate can still confirm nominations, although Democrats have said it would take months to get to all of them.
On Wednesday night, the Senate voted to confirm the nomination of General Charles Q. Brown as the next Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, following a months-long hold by Tuberville. On Thursday, the Senate voted to confirm Gen. Randy A. George as the new Army Chief of Staff and Gen. Eric M. Smith as the new Marine Corps Commandant.
