Tommy Tuberville Blocks Another Military Promotion

Alabama Senator Tommy Tuberville is reportedly blocking the promotion of Lieutenant General Ronald P. Clark, one of Lloyd Austin’s most senior advisers, as a squabble continues over why it took so long for the president to be told that his defense secretary was in intensive care at a hospital in January.
Clark, 58, was to be appointed the four-star commander of U.S. Army operations in the Pacific prior to Tuberville’s intervention, according to the senator’s spokesperson, Mallory Jaspers.
In 2023, Tuberville sparked fury in military circles after blocking hundreds of senior military promotions to protest a new Pentagon policy providing travel reimbursement for servicewomen who had to travel out of state to receive an abortion, following the overturning of Roe v. Wade. The senator ended his blockade in December after coming under intense pressure from within his own party.
Austin received surgery for prostate cancer on December 22, but there were complications with the procedure that resulted in the 71-year-old defense secretary being admitted to intensive care, where he was diagnosed with bladder and urinary tract infections.
Austin’s team was not aware he was receiving surgery for cancer until January 2, at which point he was in intensive care, and they didn’t tell the White House for another two days. Austin’s hospitalization was finally revealed to the public on January 5, sparking an angry response from members of Congress who felt they should have been told sooner.
In a statement provided to The Washington Post, Jaspers said her boss was holding up Clark’s promotion in direct response to his role in the controversy around Austin’s health.
“Sen. Tuberville has concerns about Lt. Gen. Clark’s actions during Secretary Austin’s hospitalization,” Jaspers said. “Lt. Gen. Clark knew that Sec. Austin was incapacitated and did not tell the Commander in Chief. As a senior commissioned officer, Lt. Gen. Clark’s oath requires him to notify POTUS [president of the United States] when the chain of command is compromised.”
The incident is being investigated by the Department of Defense’s inspector general and Jaspers said Tuberville is awaiting its verdict before deciding on his next steps. Jaspers told Newsweek that Tuberville had no further comment beyond his statement. Newsweek also contacted the Department of Defense press office for comment via email on Tuesday.
Pentagon spokesperson James Adams told The Washington Post: “Lt. Gen. Clark is highly qualified and was nominated for this critical position because of his experience and strategic expertise. We urge the Senate to confirm all of our qualified nominees. These holds undermine our military readiness.”
In February, Austin addressed the controversy around his hospitalization during a Pentagon press briefing, saying: “I want to be crystal clear. We did not handle this right, and I did not handle this right. I should have told the president about my cancer diagnosis, and I also should have told my team and the American public.”
Later that month, Austin was hospitalized after suffering “symptoms suggesting an emergent bladder issue” but was released shortly afterward.