On Monday the woke press went on another freakout because (pick your own story) the “Marines are without a Senate-confirmed leader for first time since 1859 after GOP senator blocks nominee.”
Oh horrors! Marines without a Senate-confirmed leader or is that Senate-conformed leader?
Is there no one at the top within the Marines command structure? Hardly. They have an acting commandant, General Eric Smith. General Berger, the former commandant ended his four year term on Monday.
Has General Smith never been confirmed by the Senate? Hardly. Smith was confirmed by the Senate when he got his fourth star, as well as stars one, two and three. He was confirmed by the Senate in July 2021 as Assistant Commandant of the Marine Corps.
So, what is the problem? As acting commandant is he restricted from leading the Corps? Of course, not. Are the Marines so woke that an acting commandant will weaken their ability to do their jobs? Let’s hope not. If so, the country has a much bigger problem than an acting commandant for the Marine Corps.
What’s holding up the approval? Senator Tommy Tuberville has placed a block on all Pentagon nominees. Why? The Hill said, “Tuberville is protesting the Pentagon’s abortion policy because it provides paid leave and reimbursement costs for travel for servicemembers who cross state lines to get an abortion. The senator says it violates the Hyde Amendment, which prohibits federal funds from paying for abortions.”
The policy was changed this spring. However, there was no change to the law. Tuberville’s position is that this policy must be formalized in law or dropped.
This makes a lot of sense. So why not change the law? If abortion for women soldiers and military wives is so important, then change the law. The problem is that removing the Hyde Amendment is a non-starter. There is little possibility to end a filibuster on such legislation if it could even get to the Senate. The political dynamics in the House do not favor such legislation either.
This change to Pentagon policy is an end run around the Supreme Court decision returning abortion decisions to the states. This is just another example of the Biden administration ignoring the laws because they don’t like them.
Thank you, Senator Tuberville, for standing up for the rule of law.