ICYMI: Secretaries of Navy, Air Force, and Army to Senator Tuberville in Joint Interview: End the Military Holds

Last night, the Secretary of the Air Force Frank Kendall, Secretary of the Army Christine Wormuth, and the Secretary of the Navy Carlos Del Toro appeared in a joint CNN interview to continue their call for Senator Tommy Tuberville to end his dangerous hold on the appointments of more than 300 senior military officials.

In the interview Secretary Del Toro spoke about the significant consequences Senator Tuberville's holds pose for our national security, noting, "I would argue that Tommy Tuberville, what he's actually doing, he's playing Russian roulette with the very lives of our servicemembers by denying them the opportunity to actually have the most experienced combat leaders in those positions to lead them […] National security is not a football game. The American people need to stand up and complain about what is going on because we need to actually turn this around as quickly as possible."

The Service Secretaries also highlighted the needless disruptions and challenges military families are facing because of Tuberville's holds. Secretary Wormuth noted, "I have a general officer that was supposed to move into a new house associated with their new position and that servicemember was going to move their aging mother into that house with them so that they could care for them. Because that move isn't happening, they are paying $10,000 a month right now to keep the aging parent in an assisted living facility. That is the kind of consequence that is happening, and these are servicemembers who have literally put their lives on the line for Americans for the last 20 years."

Watch the full interview below:

Carlos Del Toro, Frank Kendall, and Christine Wormuth on CNN's State of the Union:

Q: Let me start with you Secretary Kendall, how is America less safe and less prepared than it was six months ago?

SEC. OF THE NAVY FRANK KENDALL: First of all, we are safe and we are prepared, but what Senator Tuberville is doing is doing significant damage to our national security. He has put on hold as you said hundreds of officers. Each summer, we move a large fraction of our general officers into new positions. We promote many of them. Right now, that is all in limbo, so we have acting people basically serving in roles in many cases doing more than one job at the same time because we can't move the person that we've nominated into that position. It's having a major impact on those people and on their families.

Q: So, Secretary Del Toro, the Navy is facing obviously a lot of challenges. We have the aggression of China in the Pacific, Iran in the Straits of Hormoz, we saw today in the New York Times, an article about how the Navy is struggling with modernizing the fleet. How are these holds keeping you from doing your job?

SEC. OF THE NAVY CARLOS DEL TORO: Oh, Jake, you are absolutely right. Our nation faces serious threats throughout the globe, and I believe that we have a responsibility as government leaders to put our most experienced individuals, nominate them, and have them confirmed in positions that they can actually lead our servicemembers across the country. And, I would argue that Tommy Tuberville, what he's actually doing, he's playing Russian roulette with the very lives of our servicemembers by denying them the opportunity to actually have the most experienced combat leaders in those positions to lead them in times of peace and in times of combat.

Q: And, Secretary Wormuth, this blanket hold, obviously in addition to affecting the national security issues that you described, it also affects service members and their families, many of whom are in limbo, needing to move, but they already, they're lives are constantly moving. Their spouses. I want you to take a listen to this military spouse who is a member of the Secure Families Initiative: "Every single time that we would move, I'd have to make sure that at our new duty station, we had water and electricity and gas and sewage and trash pickup. I'd have to enroll my kids in school. I'd have to find new doctors and orthodontists, and dentists and eye doctors. I'd have to make sure that our car registration and our voter registration were updated. And the thing is, I didn't always agree with every single policy that the military had or every single action that they were engaged in, but I did it anyway because I made a commitment to my spouse, my family, and my country."

SEC. OF ARMY CHRISTINE WORMUTH: You know, I can, I absolutely relate to what that person is saying, and I can think of an example right now. I have a general officer that was supposed to move into a new house, associated with their new position, and that servicemember was going to move their aging mother into that house with them so that they could care for them. Because that move isn't happening, they are paying $10,000 a month right now to keep the aging parent in an assisted living facility. That is the kind of consequence that is happening, and these are servicemembers who have literally put their lives on the line for Americans for the last 20 years.

Q: And, Secretary Kendall, today, Pentagon Spokesman Brigadier General Pat Ryder attempted to put the effect of these holds in terms that the public and maybe Tuberville, himself, who I don't think served could understand. He is a former football coach. He compared this to having an acting football coach who didn't have real powers. Take a listen.

BRIG. GEN. PAT RYDER: In the short-term, they're likely going to make things happen because that is what leaders do. But what happens when performance on the field becomes impacted? Over time, how are you going to deal with the uncertainty of within the coaching staff and the locker room in terms of who is in charge, how are we going to affect performance, and who are the fans going to hold accountable?

TAPPER: Of course, it is a lot more serious than that. It's not about who beats Alabama on Saturday, right?

KENDALL: It is much more serious. Let me give you an example of how serious it is. People who are our potential adversaries are paying attention to this. One of my general officers in the Air Force was recently at an embassy event here in Washington where a colonel from the People's Liberation Army of China taunted him about the way our democracy was working. Our potential adversaries are paying attention to this. It is affecting how they view the United States and our military capabilities and support for the military. This needs to stop.

DEL TORO: You know, Jake, for someone that was born in a communist country. I would never imagine that actually one of our own senators would actually be aiding and abetting communist and other autocratic regimes around the world. This is having a real negative impact and will continue to have an impact on our combat readiness and that is what the American people truly need to understand.

Q: And, Senator Tuberville released a statement that said, in part, this was two weeks ago, "I will continue this process of oversight, and I will announce my opposition to specific nominees in the weeks ahead." Do you know you who he might be referring to?

WORMUTH: No, I don't know who he's referring to but we have seen some Twitter accounts, or some X accounts, who are sympathetic to Tommy Tuberville, calling out individual general officers for their support for things like equity and inclusion in the ranks, and, you know, whether one agrees with that or not, it is just unprecedented to be attacking apolitical general officers and flag officers in this way. You know, it is taking our apolitical military institution, that is the core principle of our constitutional democracy and eroding its foundation.

Q: You know, it is interesting because you know I've been a journalist in this town for a long time, and I'm just trying to imagine if during the Bush years when a lot of Democrats really opposed the Iraq war. If Democrats had done this to the military, then, which any one senator I suppose could have, the accusations of the lack of patriotism that we would have heard from conservatives – but I haven't, maybe I missed it, but I just haven't heard anything.

DEL TORO: That is exactly right, Jake. I mean, I served in uniform for 26 years in the United States Navy under six different Presidents – three Republicans, three Democrats. We have never seen another situation like this, and it's having a real impact on our servicemembers who demand the trust of all people. Tommy Tuberville has to stop this hold on our nominees moving forward.

KENDALL: It's relatively routine for political appointees like ourselves to be put on hold pending a confirmation. It is totally unprecedented to do this to our professional military officers. You know, the hundreds of people and their families and all the others affected by this have nothing to do with this policy. This is not going to be an effective tactic, and it's a terrible precedent for other situations.

WORMUTH: And it's not just the immediate consequences, it is all of the colonels, lieutenant colonels, even majors who are looking at how the general officers are being treated and what their families are going through. I really worry that many of those officers, who volunteer, are gonna walk away and basically say, 'I do not want to deal with this.' If this is what it takes to be a general officer, I don't want to do this.

Q: It is interesting because one of the bond rating agencies just downgraded the U.S. because of their analysis that the U.S. government is just so dysfunctional in terms of like being able to solve the long-term debt problems. We have this government shutdown coming down which might affect military paychecks coming up. I wonder if this we talked about the recruiting problems that the military has. This can't help that.

DEL TORO: Well, you are absolutely right, Jake. As you said, national security is not a football game. The American people need to stand up and complain about what is going on because we need to actually turn this around as quickly as possible.

Q: Final thoughts?

WORMUTH: Well, I hope frankly that Senator Tommy Tuberville and a lot his peers in the Senate heard from their voters when they were out on recess. That is part of why we timed the op-ed when we did. Congress is coming back into recess, and I hope a lot of Americans have said enough is enough.

Q: Well, and I think the point that you made, sir, that this isn't about political appointees. This is about generals, admirals, colonels, lieutenant colonels, majors, people who have devoted their lives to serving this country. They are the ones, and their families – their poor Blue Star Families – who are being affected.

DEL TORO: And to suggest that these admirals and generals did not fight is completely wrong, these are the same individuals who for 20 years actually defended our national security in Iraq, Afghanistan, and throughout the globe. They deserve our respect. And, more importantly, the current servicemembers who serve in all our services demand to have the best leadership to guide them and lead them in times of combat and during times of peace.