On Thursday, Illinois Sen. Tammy Duckworth (D) announced she’ll block 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 won’t be blocked, Politico reports.
Duckworth, a retired Army officer who lost both legs because of 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 Iraq war veteran raises the stakes amid reports that the White House could block 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.”
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“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, whom Trump nominated to help lead the administration’s effort to develop and produce a coronavirus vaccine. Perna was confirmed Thursday afternoon.
