Alabama Republican blasts an effort to rid the military of white nationalists

https://www.npr.org/2023/05/11/ [login to see] /tuberville-military-white-nationalists
Sen. Tommy Tuberville, R-Ala., claims that military recruitment is down because of liberal attacks on the military.

"Look at Joe Biden's [policies,] what he's done to our military with the woke ideas. ...We are losing in the military so fast," Tuberville told NPR member station WBHM.

The lawmaker, a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, is under pressure for holding up military nominees over abortion policy he disagrees with. When asked about whether that obstruction is hurting military readiness, Tuberville instead faulted the Biden administration.

Tuberville said that he thinks efforts to root out extremism — and critical race theory, which he contends is being taught in the military — are causing the U.S. to lose service members.

Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin previously rebutted those claims during a 2021 House Armed Services hearing.