The civilian secretaries of the Army, Navy and Air Force on Monday called on Sen. Tommy Tuberville to end his hold on military nominations, saying it is putting “our national security at risk.”

The secretaries made their case in a Washington Post opinion piece that highlighted the stress and readiness issues the hold has caused as Tuberville, an Alabama Republican, has used it to pressure the Department of Defense to change a policy that allows troops to take time to seek abortion care if it is not available where they live.

The hold has forced officers at the highest levels, such as the heads of the Army, Navy and Marine Corps, to work in acting roles without legal authority to make decisions to maintain the military’s strategic edge, the secretaries said.

Alabama keeps fight over Space Command alive in the House

The 301 officers caught up in the hold include some of the highest ranking people based in Colorado Springs, such as the incoming four-star generals set to lead Space Command, Northern Command and the North American Aerospace Defense Command. Some Colorado Springs leaders affected by the hold can work in their new jobs, but have not received their promotions. 

The secretaries also noted Tuberville’s hold is a hardship for those forced to work two positions and hurts the finances of people who are unexpectedly paying for two homes.

“The strain of this double duty places a real and unfair burden on these officers, the organizations they lead and their families,” the secretaries said. 

The call by the secretaries is the latest development in a more than six-month impasse between the Defense Department and Tuberville over the abortion policy.

“The only person that can end this is Sen. Tuberville,” said Sabrina Singh, a Defense Department spokeswoman, in an interview with The Gazette at the beginning of August.

In recent weeks, Tuberville seems to have dug in on his position, calling out individual officers for their views.

Colorado leaders bask in Space Command victory after facing uneven odds on congressional committees

In an interview clip he posted on X, formerly known as Twitter, he said he would drop the issue if the Defense Department dropped its policy, and the practice of allowing military service members to seek abortion care was introduced as a bill and voted on.

“They are not supposed to be making laws and I am not going to allow them to do it,” he said.

The Defense Department’s policy was introduced after Roe v. Wade was overturned and individual states started adopting differing abortion restrictions.

“We have to make sure our service members have equal access to health care wherever they are,” Singh said.

As the fight drags on, the list of nominees has gotten longer and may reach about 650 by the end of the year. Another 110 will be working two jobs, she said.

“You’re looking at around 89% of our general and flag officer positions being impacted by this hold,” she said.

Defense Department data showed some of the high-ranking Colorado Springs officers impacted by the hold include:

? Lt. Gen. Stephen Whiting, Space Operations commander, who is in line to become the four-star general in charge of Space Command.

? Lt. Gen. Gregory Guillot, who has been nominated to lead Northern Command and NORAD as a four-star general. He is the deputy commander of U.S. Central Command.

? Brig. Gen. Tim Sejba, who is now leading the Space Training and Readiness Command, but has not received his promotion to major general. Sejba was sworn in in July and expected to keep working on some of his predecessor’s priorities, such as realistic training environments.

? Brig. Gen. Laura Clellan, leader of Colorado’s National Guard, who has been nominated to be a major general.

The Senate returned to work Tuesday after its August recess, and congressional discussions about Tuberville’s holds may ramp back up.

Sen. Michael Bennet, D-Colo., has asked repeatedly for the nominations to move forward, saying Tuberville is wrong to discount the importance of confirmed leadership.

“This is an odd position for a coach to take, that the coaches don’t matter in our military,” he said on the Senate floor, referring to Tuberville’s experience as a football coach.

It is unclear how Tuberville’s constituents feel about his campaign after the release of dueling poll results in August.

Colorado Springs to celebrate Space Command announcement at America the Beautiful Park

A poll of 577 Alabama voters by VoteVets, a nonprofit that campaigns for veteran and active duty issues, found a majority of Tuberville’s constituents may be tired of his campaign.

It found 58% of those polled felt the senator has “made his point” and should allow nominations to be approved.

A poll by WPA intelligence found 45% of 500 people who were polled agreed more with Tuberville than the White House on the abortion policy. Otherwise voters were split with a third backing the policy, 11% disapproving of either side and 10% who didn’t answer, AL.com reported. The news outlet is the largest news site in Alabama.