Republican presidential candidate and former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley chided Sen. Tommy Tuberville (R-AL) on Tuesday for his blockade on military promotions in protest of the Department of Defense's abortion policy.
Haley, whose husband is currently deployed, agreed with Tuberville's opposition to the Pentagon paying for the travel expenses of service members seeking an abortion. But she questioned whether there might be other ways for the Alabama senator to make his disapproval known.
HOW DEBATE CAN BE MAKE OR BREAK FOR CANDIDATES
"I mean, you look at the fact that the Department of Defense shouldn’t be doing this in the first place. But there’s got to be other ways to go about doing this," Haley told Hugh Hewitt on his radio show. "I appreciate what Tuberville’s trying to do. I do. Like, it’s totally wrong that the Department of Defense is doing this. But have we gotten so low that this is how we have to go about stopping it?"
Despite pressure from Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, Tuberville has stuck with his monthslong blockade, which has prevented the promotions of more than 300 senior military officers, including two nominees for the Joint Chiefs of Staff. Haley argued the feud between Tuberville and the Pentagon is only leading more people and military families to feel as if they're being abandoned and not treated with respect.
"For my husband who’s serving overseas, and for all those military men and women, the idea that this is what they’re looking back and seeing, and this is what they are dealing with on top of the stresses of keeping themselves safe and being away from their families, it’s wrong," Haley said.
Another 2024 rival, Gov. Ron DeSantis (R-FL), has supported Tuberville's actions in recent days, arguing that the Pentagon policy violates the law. "They are basically being told by the Biden administration to do this. This is not consistent with long-standing U.S. law. And I think it plays into a larger problem that we have seen in the military. You have a lot of civilians forcing them to engage in political and culture issues that are detracting from mission. This is one of them," DeSantis said on Fox News's Special Report earlier this month.
Haley, a former U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, also claimed that President Joe Biden was leading the U.S. into war with China, which, in conjunction with Russia, sent 11 military ships near the Aleutian Islands last week. "I think that we should make sure that we’re not in a conflict with China. And I think that President Biden’s doing everything he can to make sure that we walk into it," she said. "You don’t run scared from China. You have to be strong. You have to make sure they know what we’re focused on."
Haley has often criticized China's growing global influence as she runs for president and cautioned that America must "quit playing nice with them" while speaking with Hewitt. Last month, Haley called China an "enemy" of the U.S. and warned that the nation must bolster its military equipment to ward off China on Tuesday. "Right now, they’re just not scared of us. And neither are Russia or Iran," she later said.
The 2024 candidate also reiterated her reluctance to comment on former President Donald Trump's latest indictment related to his efforts to overturn the 2020 presidential election results.
"I have said with this last indictment that came down, I’m tired of commenting on every Trump drama," Haley said, before adding that the GOP debate later this month should focus on other issues. "But I think we need to be focusing on how we’re going to stop China. I think we need to be focusing on how we’re going to close our border. I think we need to talk about how we’re going to reverse Bidenomics and the fact that people are still feeling inflation."
CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER
She did say Trump's latest indictment should not be held in Washington, D.C., when Hewitt asked. Trump's lawyers have attempted to move the trial to West Virginia, claiming the former president won't receive a fair trial in the nation's capital.
"A Republican can’t get a fair trial in D.C., and I’ve long said that Jan. 6 was a terrible day," Haley said, "but Trump did not attack the Capitol. It’s not a crime for him to say that he thinks the election was stolen. I mean, I just don’t think you should prosecute him for that, but I don’t think anybody feels like you can get a fair case for a Republican in D.C. or New York. So yeah, I think that changing venues would be totally warranted."