Former Vice President Mike Pence said that Alabama Senator Tommy Tuberville is fighting for the rights of “tens of millions of pro-life, tax-paying Americans.”
Former Vice President Mike Pence, who is running for the GOP presidential nomination in 2024, said he is proud of U.S. Sen. Tommy Tuberville, R-Ala., for stopping hundreds of military jobs in response to the Pentagon’s controversial abortion policy, which was announced earlier this year.
Because former defense secretaries have criticized Tuberville’s position on the matter, the host of a NewsNation town hall in Chicago on Wednesday night asked Pence if he should resign.
The former vice president, who is very against abortion, said, “No.” “The Pentagon needs to stop.”
Pence said that he is pro-life and doesn’t feel bad about it. He then asked why public money is being used to “undermine pro-life laws in states across the country.” He said it is “just wrong” to think that “liberal Democratic agenda” generals at the Pentagon are using the money to attack state laws.
Pence said, “I applaud Sen. Tuberville, and instead of asking him to stop, I’d ask the Pentagon to stop.” “If I’m President of the United States, I promise we’ll get rid of all this woke stuff at the Pentagon.”
In its official plan, which came out on February 16, the Pentagon said it would pay for the trip of service members who want an abortion or want to go with a partner who wants to end a pregnancy. It said that troops would have up to five months, or 20 weeks into their pregnancy, to tell their offices and request travel to get an abortion.
“The DOD health care provider will place the service member who is considering an abortion in a medical temporary nondeployable status without regard to the service member’s pregnancy status, until appropriate medical care and the necessary recovery time are complete,” the memo said.
The letter also tells the military units that people who want to get an abortion or fertility treatments that aren’t covered by military health care providers can take an administrative leave without losing pay.
Pence continued to criticize the policy by saying that, if elected, he would make sure that the Secretary of Defense and the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff focused on the mission of the US military, “which is readiness and making sure they can defend this nation and our interests around the world.”
He also said that Tuberville is fighting for the rights of “tens of millions of pro-life, tax-paying Americans” who are “happy to invest in our national defense” but do not want the military to use public money to promote a “liberal social agenda.”
When asked what he would do if a Democratic senator held up military raises to promote a “woke” cause, Pence said he would take it to the American people and “see what they think about that.”
Usually, both parties in the U.S. Senate have to agree on military bids and awards. But Tuberville’s general hold broke this rule, and defense officials and members of both parties criticized him for putting national security at risk.
Tuberville has said that he won’t move until Democrats let the idea be voted on. The Senate could move forward by voting on each name separately, but Democrats say that would tie up the floor for months and that giving in would make it more likely that similar things will happen again in the future.
The Pentagon says that the move has already stopped more than 260 nominations of senior officers in all five branches. By the end of the year, that number could reach as high as 650.
Brig. Gen. Pat Ryder said earlier this week that the Pentagon was not paying for abortions, but was instead “giving all of our service members equal reproductive health care.”
“The Department does not pay for abortions,” said Ryder. “What this does is make it easier for a service member to get to places they could have gotten to before.”
He also said, “If you are now sent to a state where these services are not available, we will not pay for them.” But we will get you to a place where you can pay for those services, just like we would if you were stationed overseas.”
Ryder said the Pentagon didn’t want a force with “haves and have-nots,” where some people have access and others don’t just because of where the military puts them.