Rep. Michael McCaul of Texas has condemned Sen. Tommy Tuberville's hold on hundreds of military promotions, calling it a "paralyzing" move and a "national security problem." GOP presidential candidate Nikki Haley also weighed in, calling the policy "a national security problem" and promising to end it if elected. The hold on military promotions has been ongoing for months, creating a national security issue.
Posts tagged as “The Defense Department”
Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin has criticized Republican Sen. Tommy Tuberville's hold on hundreds of military promotions, calling it an "unprecedented" move that threatens the country's safety. This hold is the first time in the history of the Department of Defense that three of the military services are operating without Senate-confirmed leaders, and Austin has urged the Senate to do its job and confirm the president's nominees. Tuberville has yet to comment on Austin's remarks.
President Joe Biden has nominated Adm. Lisa Franchetti to lead the Navy, making her the first woman to be a Pentagon service chief and the first female member of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. Adm. Franchetti has extensive command and executive experience, and her selection is being met with criticism from Sen. Tommy Tuberville (R-AL) who is holding more than 250 military promotions in protest of the Defense Department's abortion policy. If confirmed, Adm. Franchetti will be the first woman to lead the Navy in its 244-year history.
Rep. Eli Crane (R-AZ) proposed an amendment to the House-passed National Defense Authorization Act, which was adopted in a 214-210 vote. The amendment aims to prohibit the Defense Department from considering race, gender, religion, political affiliations or “any other” when making decisions. During the floor debate, Crane referred to Black people as “colored people”, sparking a debate over the use of language when discussing race and ethnicity. Crane has since apologized for his remarks and the bill is expected to pass the House this week.
Rep. Eli Crane (R-Ariz.) sparked controversy on the House floor when he referred to non-white Americans serving in the U.S. military as “colored people” while proposing an amendment to the National Defense Authorization Act. Rep. Joyce Beatty (D-Ohio) argued that Crane's language was "offensive and unacceptable" and that it was "unfortunate that we have to debate an amendment that seeks to limit the progress of people of color and women." Crane argued that his amendment was meant to ensure that recruitment and promotion decisions were based on merit, rather than on any other ideological concepts. The amendment was ultimately voted down, highlighting the ongoing struggle to ensure that recruitment and promotion decisions in the military are based on merit.
This article reports on a trove of classified US intelligence documents that have been leaked online, which suggest infighting between Russian officials and the Wagner Group's interest in Haiti. The documents appear to include highly classified material and the US government is likely to investigate the source of the leak and take steps to ensure similar leaks do not occur in the future. CNN has not independently verified the documents.
The FBI is investigating a major leak of classified Pentagon documents that have been shared on social media sites, which the Justice Department is looking into. CBS News has reviewed some of the leaked documents, and the Biden administration is assessing and containing the fallout. The Pentagon is reviewing the matter and tightening the flow of such documents, while the FBI is trying to track down the source of the leak.
Key takeaways: The Pentagon is deeply concerned about the leak of highly classified documents online. The documents reveal US spying activities on allies and foes,…