Rep. Ilhan Omar
Ilhan OmarOmar Reintroduces Bill Seeking to Cancel Rent and Mortgage Payments During Pandemic Expand Remote Internships on Capitol Hill to Create a More Diverse and Effective Mellman Congress: Party Branding vs. Personal Branding MORE (D-Minn.) He pointed at the senator. Ted Cruz
Rafael (Ted) Edward CruzGOP attacks Biden’s relief bill Poll: 81 percent of Republican voters have a favorable view of Trump The bill would prevent Biden from excluding Cuba as a state sponsor of terrorism MORE (R-Texas) and other Republicans after Cruz wrote a letter to the Pentagon chief complaining about comments military leaders made in hitting Fox News. Tucker carlson
Tucker CarlsonTucker Carlson Responds to “Awakened Generals” After Criticism Veteran PAC Criticizes Tucker Carlson for Comments on Female Night Defense Service Members: Tucker Carlson’s Comments Cause Military Fury | They question the duty of guard of the Capitol | Veterinarian who served in the Marine One unit accused of insurrection MORE.
Carlson has come under fire for criticizing steps the military has taken in recent years to be more gender inclusive.
“Republicans who go after the military because of misogyny and a dangerously radical Fox News pundit is just wild and revealing. Like I said before, these hypocrites finally give themselves away, ”Omar wrote in a tweet Sunday night.
Republicans who go after the military because of misogyny and a dangerously radical Fox News pundit is just wild and revealing.
Like I said before, these hypocrites finally give themselves away. https://t.co/jT5t28pAC4
– Ilhan Omar (@IlhanMN) March 15, 2021
The tweet came in response to another one posted by Cruz hours before detailing a letter he sent to the Secretary of Defense. Lloyd Austin
Lloyd AustinBlinken, Austin Opinion Piece: Alliances Are ‘Force Multipliers’ For America Biden Lays Ground For China High-Risk Meeting On Sunday Shows Progress: Democrats Declare Victory Over COVID-19 Stimulus; Vaccination Efforts Provide Hope for Summer MORE. The letter called for a meeting with the Commandant of the Marine Corps, Gen. David H. Berger, in response to what he called “systematic public attacks” by the Pentagon against Carlson that he said “in substance, tone and political overtones are inexplicably inappropriate “.
Cruz was referring to comments some high-ranking military leaders made last week, expressing support for female service members. President Biden
Joe Biden The Hill’s Morning Report – Presented by Facebook – Biden to Hit the Road and Promote COVID-19 Relief Act Oregon Senator takes center stage in Democratic filibuster debate this week: Democrats look to next step after coronavirus relief bill win MORE, on International Women’s Day last week, highlighted efforts to make the military more inclusive of women, efforts Carlson attacked.
These included maternity flight suits in the Air Force and changes to grooming standards that allowed for more hairstyles for women, such as braids and twists, among others.
“So we have new hairstyles and maternity flight suits. Pregnant women are going to fight our wars. It’s a mockery of the US military, ”Carlson said in television remarks the next day.
“While China’s armed forces become more masculine as it has assembled the largest navy in the world, our armed forces must become, as Joe Biden says, more feminine, whatever feminine means,” he also said. , although the efforts he targeted were initiated under the previous administration.
Carlson sparked an immediate backlash following his comments, including warmth from military leaders like Sgt. Army Major Michael Grinston, who called the host’s comments “divisive” and said they “do not reflect our values.”
“Women lead our deadliest units with character,” Grinston also said. “They will dominate ANY future battlefield we are called upon to fight.”
Marine Corps Artillery Master Sgt. Scott Stalker, who is the senior enlisted leader of the US Space Command, among other leaders, also rejected Carlson’s comments, saying the newscaster’s comments were “based on zero days of service in the armed forces “.
In his letter to Austin on Sunday, Cruz referred to critical comments from military leaders as behavior that “is completely unacceptable in the United States of America.”
“Multiple military leaders have tweeted videos of themselves, while in uniform, attacking Carlson, including US Space Command Senior Enlisted Leader Staff Sgt. Army Major, Commanding General of the US Army Maneuver Center of Excellence and Commander of the Information Group (IG) of the II Marine Expeditionary Force (MEF), ”he wrote.
“Throughout this campaign, military leaders have suggested and hinted that it is off-limits for civilians to criticize the military unless they have served,” he said.
“This spectacle runs the risk of politicizing the military after several centuries of efforts to keep military officers out of internal affairs, undermining civil-military relations by causing the military to take sides in a contentious cultural dispute and the perception that the military leaders are happily arming the institution against the political critics of the current administration, ”he continued.
In addition to requesting an in-person meeting with Berger to discuss the issues, Cruz also asked for a plan to address similar behavior from service members.
“I also request an official response from the department and the implementation of a policy that isolates other units from being similarly mobilized against the discourse of US citizens or in the service of left-wing political causes,” he said.