Rory Gabel, Vice Chair, District 24 Republicans, Valley City

I’d like to respond to the letter to the editor written by Katrina Christiansen, printed in papers around the state, blasting Senator Tuberville (R-Ala.), who is “blocking the military promotions of 250 general and admiral nominees.” I kept reading and thought it would have been nice if Christiansen would have told us why Tuberville was doing this.

In researching the matter, I found out what she was leaving out. It turns out that it’s over President Biden and Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin recent decision to have the DOD pay for abortion-related expenses for service members using taxpayer dollars. According to many legal experts, that is illegal! The Hyde Amendment prevents taxpayer dollars to pay for abortions. Biden along with Austin are overstepping their authority and Senator Tuberville is using his authority as a sitting Senator to halt promotions until Biden and the DOD rescind this unlawful directive.

More than 5,000 Veterans recently wrote a letter to the Senate Leaders in support of Tuberville, writing, “We firmly support Senator Tuberville’s position of holding civilian, general, and flag officers from confirmation by unanimous consent until the DoD rescinds its recently instituted policy of subsidizing abortion” and “The undersigned stand united in condemning this policy. This policy is not just illegal, it shamefully politicizes the military, circumvents the authority of Congress, and exceeds the authority of the Department of Defense.”

The Veterans go on to write, “There is no truth more profound than the fact that all human life is sacred. The mission of the United States Military is to defend and protect all American lives – not subsidize the practice of destroying innocent and vulnerable American children via abortion with taxpayer dollars. By pledging to hold these nominations to the Department of Defense until administration officials reverse course, Senator Tuberville is doing a great service for the American people – including its service members.”

Kudos to the Veterans and Senator Tuberville, keep up the great work and I would hope that Senator Cramer would stand with you in this effort.