Ron DeSantis seen in Pensacola, Fla., in November 2018 while running for governor, left, and Sen. Tommy Tuberville, R-Ala., as seen in a July 12, 2023, hearing on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C. (TNS/Stars and Stripes)
(Tribune News Service) — Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis in an interview on Thursday showed support for Alabama Sen. Tommy Tuberville’s ongoing skirmish over the military’s abortion policy.
A Republican presidential contender, DeSantis said the Defense Department should “stand down” its policy of paid leave to service members seeking an abortion.
According to Politico, DeSantis told radio host Hugh Hewitt said on his first day as president “that policy will go out the window.”
“They are using tax dollars. They’re funding abortion tourism, which is not an appropriate thing for the military to be doing,” DeSantis said.
The DOD policies allow service members to request administrative absence for “non-covered reproductive health services,” which includes elective abortions and IVF, for themselves or to accompany their partners.
The policies also provide transportation allowances to travel to states where reproductive care is more expansive.
Additionally, the new policies would allow service members to wait up to 20 weeks before disclosing their pregnancies.
In response to the DOD policies, Tuberville is blocking the nominations of more than 2,500 military officers, including Air Force Chief of Staff C.Q. Brown, President Biden’s nominee for chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.
Earlier this week, Tuberville sent a letter to Senate leaders he said was signed by more than 5,000 veterans who support his hold on military nominees over abortion.
The letter to Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky.,, was sent the same day a liberal group that advocates for veterans released an ad criticizing the hold on Alabama broadcast television stations.
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