Duckworth said her blockade on senior nominees would exempt Army Gen. Gustave Perna, nominated to lead the effort to develop a coronavirus vaccine.
Sen. Tammy Duckworth on Thursday announced she’ll hold up the confirmation of more than 1,000 military promotions until Defense Secretary Mark Esper confirms that the promotion of impeachment witness Army Lt. Col. Alexander Vindman will move forward.
Duckworth, a retired Army officer who lost both legs due to injuries sustained in the Iraq war, said she intends to block 1,123 promotions until Esper “confirms in writing that he did not, or will not, block the expected and deserved promotion” of Vindman to colonel.
The move by the Illinois Democrat raises the stakes amid reports that the White House could nix Vindman’s promotion from a list of officers set to move up the ranks.
“Our military is supposed to be the ultimate meritocracy,” Duckworth said. “It is simply unprecedented and wrong for any Commander in Chief to meddle in routine military matters at all, whether or not he has a personal vendetta against a Soldier who did his patriotic duty and told the truth — a Soldier who has been recommended for promotion by his superiors because of his performance. I won’t just sit by and let it happen, and neither should any of my colleagues.”
“This goes far beyond any single military officer, it is about protecting a merit-based system from political corruption and unlawful retaliation,” she added.
Duckworth said her blockade on senior nominees would exempt Army Gen. Gustave Perna, who Trump nominated to help lead the administration’s effort to develop and produce a coronavirus vaccine. Perna was confirmed to the post Thursday afternoon.
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Sen. Tammy Duckworth on Thursday announced she'll hold up the confirmation of more than 1,000 military promotions until Defense Secretary Mark Esper confirms that the promotion of impeachment witness Army Lt. Col. Alexander Vindman will move forward https://t.co/kW4gGgpT1s
— POLITICO (@politico) July 2, 2020
Good. Undoubtedly many of those involved deserve their promotions. So does Vindman. https://t.co/ao69tmNAio
— Stephen Hayes (@stephenfhayes) July 2, 2020
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