The GOP's Tommy Tuberville backs down after his latest military fight

Ideally, Senator Tommy Tuberville would avoid controversies related to the U.S. military. Apparently, however, the Alabama Republican can't help himself.

Last year, of course, the former coach and politician imposed an unprecedented 10-month blockade on military endorsements that undermined his own country's military during international crises. In the end, the right-wing senator had nothing to show but a ruined reputation.

This is the same Tuberville who reportedly failed in his obligations to veterans' charities, who did not tell the whole truth about his father's military service, who lied about the U.S. military not being an “equal opportunity employer,” and who described veterans as Leveraged a debunked anti-immigrant conspiracy theory, claiming earlier this year: “Our military has somehow gone downhill.”

With this in mind, another military-related idea came to mind for Alabamans: Tuberville decided it would be prudent to block the promotion of Lt. Gen. Ronald P. Clark, who was nominated as four-star commander of all U.S. armed forces -Army in the Pacific.

From the Republican senator's perspective, Clark was a senior adviser to Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin when the Pentagon chief underwent surgery last year to treat prostate cancer, which Austin did not disclose. (He ultimately apologized for the secrecy.)

Fortunately for the military, Tuberville backed down just before lawmakers completed their primary election work. Politico reported:

The senator initially wanted to delay the general's promotion until he saw an inspector general's report on Austin's hospitalization, but those findings are not yet complete and U.S. forces in the Pacific couldn't wait.

So Clark and Tuberville had a private meeting in which the senator concluded that Austin's misguided secrecy was “not his problem.”

That's probably the kind of detail the Republican could have caught before blocking the general's promotion, but at least Tuberville allowed Clark to be confirmed.

However, Tuberville's list of military missteps continues to grow.