MSNBC’s Nicolle Wallace appeared visibly shocked by what she described as the latest display of ignorance from Sen. Tommy Tuberville (R-Ala.) as he continues to block military promotions in the Senate in protest of the Pentagon’s abortion policies.
Tuberville told reporters on Tuesday that he was sure that Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Mark Milley would remain in the role, even after his official Oct. 1 departure date, until a replacement was named.
“I’ll call Milley and wish him good luck, but I don’t know whether he’ll go anywhere until they get somebody confirmed,” said the Alabama Republican.
The reporters explained that Milley was required to leave by law.
“He has to leave?” Tuberville asked. “He’s out. We’ll get somebody else to do the job. But hopefully, it’s done by then.”
Wallace couldn’t believe the exchange.
“Hopefully what’s done? You’re the problem,” she said on Tuesday.
Tuberville has singlehandedly been blocking military nominations and promotions from advancing in the Senate for months, leading to a backlog of hundreds. He says he is doing so to protest the Defense Department’s policy of allowing service members to take time off to seek abortion care in states where it’s available.
Tuesday’s exchange was just “another layer of Tuberville’s profound and embarrassing ignorance about the U.S. military,” Wallace said.