Suddenly, "military readiness" is all the rage among Democrats in Washington.
The party that has railed against the Department of Defense for decades now finds itself the champion of the Pentagon, shield of America’s warriors, defenders of the military industrial complex.
What strange political alchemy has turned Dem donkeys into old warhorses?
This summer of love for the War Department began as a spring romance when first-term Sen. Tommy Tuberville blockaded promotions for officers over the rank of O7 (brigadier general and rear admiral).
Stiff-armed for months by the Department of Defense, "Coach Tuberville" finally called foul on the new abortion policy in late February.
Americans may be split on the subject of abortion itself, but there is wide bipartisan agreement that we shouldn’t fund abortion with taxpayer dollars.
That consensus held firm for 40 years — until this presidency.
In the wake of the U.S. Supreme Court’s leaked Dobbs vs. Jackson Women's Health Organization decision, the Biden administration instructed every executive agency to find a loophole, or make one if necessary.
On cue, Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin claimed access to abortion is a "readiness issue."
Evidently, the U.S. can’t fight and win wars unless service women, who make up 16% of the Defense Department, can get an abortion on demand.
Ignoring the plain text of the law that prevents Defense from funding abortion, Secretary Lloyd Austin declared by memorandum that his agency would pay for travel and an additional three weeks of leave for any service member, or their dependent, who wants an abortion.
Normally, a first trimester abortion costs about $600.
The Defense Department's new abortion tourism policy grossly exceeds that amount.
The lowest-ranking private in the U.S. Army makes about $736 a week (including housing), so with paid travel and three weeks of extra leave, the cost to the taxpayer for one abortion trip could easily top $2,000.
For a mid-grade Army captain or Navy lieutenant, that price tag soars to more than $7,000.
There was no debate in Congress on this massive policy change.
Oversight committees were not briefed.
Not a single hearing was held on this issue. From his wood-paneled office in the Pentagon’s E-ring, the SECDEF simply put the U.S. taxpayer on the hook for far more than just the cost of an abortion.
Enter Sen. Tommy Tuberville, R-Ala.
In protest, the senior senator has halted the promotions for a veritable constellation of stars, demanding a roll-call vote what’s now approaching 300 generals and admirals.
"This is not about abortion, this is about a tyrannical executive branch walking all over the United States Senate and doing our jobs for us," Tuberville railed from Senate floor. "I’m not going to budge."
Dems were delighted. After all, they see abortion as a winning election issue.
The blockade "risks our entire national security," Majority Leader Sen. Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., breathlessly cried over his reading glasses.
"He’s jeopardizing U.S. security," President Biden vented from Helsinki.
Even Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., rallied to secure promotions and pay-raises for America’s general and admirals, claiming "These holds are depriving families…we are talking about grocery money for families."
Grocery money? Are you kidding?
The poorest general or admiral caught in this limbo makes upwards of $240,000 each year in pay and benefits. We should all be so lucky to have our nominations stuck in the Senate. In a force of two million men and women, Warren’s sudden love for the top tenth of one percent is telling.
Pro-abortion advocates like Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., claim it’s unfair that a woman might be stationed in a state that restricts access to abortion, such as Texas, Florida, or Alabama. "She won’t have control over her own body!" they claim.
This is true.
It’s a fact of military service that each member of our armed forces, regardless of gender, pledges their body to the country.
At it’s core, the foundation of military service is that your body belongs to Uncle Sam.
American G.I.s didn’t demand Planned Parenthood access before they stormed the Atlantic Wall at Normandy or sunk the Japanese fleet at Midway.
For the nation’s entire history, we’ve sent our men and women to be stationed in places where there’s limited or no access to abortion.
That continues today for our troops in Iraq, Japan, Korea, Poland, Romania, most of Africa, and every U.S. Navy warship at sea.
Worst of all, Secretary Austin’s policy paints every responsible, adult woman in the Defense Department as a hapless victim — the exact opposite of what advocates for women serving in the military believe.
Perversely, the new policy creates a hostile work environment for pregnant servicewomen who want to keep their babies — in Biden’s War Department a woman only gets three weeks of paid leave and travel if she wants to terminate the pregnancy.
So don’t be fooled by the Dems newfound love of our military. This isn’t about military readiness, the rights of our service members, or the promotions of admirals and generals.
It’s just another day in D.C. politics.
Morgan Murphy is a former Pentagon press secretary and national security advisor. The 24-year Navy captain is also a veteran of Afghanistan.
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