« There is absolutely no reason a Republican should vote against this bill, » Armed Services Chairman Mike Rogers (R-Ala.) said Friday. House Speaker Kevin McCarthy the said goodbye that day: « We don’t want Disneyland to train our military. »
But the current bill is not expected to pass the Democratic-led Senate intact.
Host Jake Tapper stressed that the House had passed the measure, but Sullivan insisted that only a small number of Republicans were behind the amendments which sparked Democratic opposition to the measure.
« It was a small group of Republicans who essentially set up a trap, a circumstance that we don’t need to be in, Jake, » he said.
Speaking on ABC’s « This Week, » Sullivan again complained that Republicans have let domestic politics intrude on national security issues. « What is real is the capabilities, technologies and social support that are critical to our troops and their families, » he said. « That’s what all of this should have been about, not these political and domestic issues. »
He added that a single Republican senator, Tommy Tuberville of Alabama, is using Senate procedures to delay military promotions because of Pentagon policies regarding abortions for military personnel. « I’m not changing my mind, » Tuberville said last week.
Sullivan claimed that Tuberville’s efforts were based solely on political considerations.
« For the first time in 150 years we don’t have a Marine Corps commander, » Sullivan told ABC. “Very soon we will not have a Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff than a Chief of Naval Operations. This is making America less safe. And why? Because of trying to score internal political points.“
