The White House has ramped up its criticism of Sen. Tommy Tuberville (R-AL), complaining at the top of a press briefing for a second consecutive day about the senator's military promotion blockade in protest of the Pentagon's abortion policies.

Tuberville is "disrespecting" service members and their families while causing "unprecedented" harm to military readiness, according to press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre, citing Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin's belief that "our adversaries" are "pretty happy" about the "turbulence" the senator has created.

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"Across the nation, across the political spectrum, Americans are deeply concerned at the damage Senator Tuberville's holds can have on our armed services, and our military spouses, and the children of service members," she told reporters Tuesday. "As the president said in Helsinki last week, Republicans in Congress should step up and speak out."

A day earlier Jean-Pierre described Tuberville as "hijacking" the National Defense Authorization Act, the consideration of which has traditionally been a bipartisan process.

"He's also delaying the confirmation of hundreds of qualified and capable military nominees, depriving our armed forces of leadership it needs," the press secretary said. "The Pentagon is going without a Senate-confirmed Marine Corps commandant for the first time ever in over a century because of this attack on our national security."

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"A cascading effect of delayed promotions threatens a brain drain from the military," she added. "And military families do not know where they will live, where spouses will work, where children will go to school."

A Tuberville spokesman has criticized the Biden administration for "politicizing the military" and for being more concerned with "about 260 generals and admirals than about tens of thousands of missing recruits."