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Top defense officials are accusing Republican Alabama Sen. Tommy Tuberville of jeopardizing America鈥檚 national security with his hold on roughly 300 military promotions, raising the stakes in a clash over abortion policy that shows no signs of easing.

Mr. Tuberville brushed off the criticism, vowing he will not give in. 鈥淲e鈥檙e going to be in a holding pattern for a long time,鈥� he said, if the Pentagon refuses to end its policy of paying for travel when a servicemember goes out of state to get an abortion or other reproductive care.

It鈥檚 a classic Washington standoff with rippling effects across the country, placing the lives of servicemembers effectively on hold as they await what has traditionally been routine Senate approval for their promotions.

Frustration mounting, the secretaries of the Navy, Air Force, and Army wrote an op-ed in the Washington Post this week saying Mr. Tuberville鈥檚 efforts were not only unfair to the military leaders and their families but also 鈥減utting our national security at risk.鈥�

They noted that three military branches 鈥� the Army, Navy, and Marine Corps 鈥� have no Senate-confirmed chiefs in place. Those jobs are being performed without the full range of legal authorities necessary to make decisions that will sustain the United States鈥� military edge, they wrote.

In a CNN interview, Secretary of the Navy Carlos Del Toro accused Mr. Tuberville of 鈥減laying Russian roulette with the very lives of our service members by denying them the opportunity to actually have the most experienced combat leaders in those positions to lead them in times of peace and in times of combat.鈥�

Looking ahead, the secretaries said in their op-ed that prolonged uncertainty and political battles over military nominations 鈥渨ill have a corrosive effect on the force.鈥�

鈥淭he generals and admirals who will be leading our forces a decade from now are colonels and captains today,鈥� they wrote. 鈥淭hey are watching this spectacle and might conclude that their service at the highest ranks of our military is no longer valued by members of Congress or, by extension, the American public.聽

Mr. Tuberville took umbrage with the three defense secretaries. He said they should have spoken with him first 鈥渋f you鈥檙e gonna run your mouth in the paper.鈥�

鈥淚 have not heard from any of them,鈥� he said.

If they were truly worried about readiness at such a dangerous time for the world 鈥測ou would think they would be calling, 鈥楥oach, let鈥檚 work this out.鈥� Zero,鈥� said Mr. Tuberville, a former college football coach.

However, there have been multiple attempts by both the department鈥檚 top civilian leaders and its top uniformed personnel to try and show Mr. Tuberville how the holds are doing harm, a senior military official and defense official said.

A senior military official familiar with previous meetings with Mr. Tuberville said that despite telling the senator about the real-world and personal challenges that his hold has created on servicemembers, Mr. Tuberville has not seemed willing to change his position.

Mr. Tuberville said that during the August break, he visited six states, and 鈥淚 didn鈥檛 have one negative comment from anybody. I had questions, but I didn鈥檛 have any negative comments.鈥�

He insisted that he would lift his hold on the military nominations only after the Pentagon rescinds the policy that Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin put into place in October, after the Supreme Court ended the constitutional protections for abortion that had been in place nearly 50 years.

Once the Pentagon returns to pre-memo policies on travel reimbursement, Democratic leaders could bring up for a Senate vote whatever replacement policy they want to enact, he said.聽聽

鈥淢ove it back,鈥� Mr. Tuberville said of the current reimbursement policy. 鈥淎nd then have them write up what they want to vote on, and I will accept whichever way it goes. The holds are off. Let鈥檚 go to work.鈥�

Mr. Tuberville鈥檚 blockade is unique because it affects hundreds of military nominations and promotions. Democratic leaders would have to hold roll call votes on every one to get around the hold, an unwieldy and time-consuming process in a chamber that already struggles to finish its basic business.

It鈥檚 a decades-long tradition for the Senate to group military nominations and approve them by voice vote, avoiding lengthy roll calls and reserving valuable floor time for other important issues.

But, while unusual, Mr. Tuberville鈥檚 office notes that lawmakers from both parties have threatened holds on military promotions over the years. What鈥檚 truly unprecedented is the length of time it has gone on with Mr. Tuberville.

Mr. Austin has called Mr. Tuberville three times about the holds, the last time was on July 18, and the Pentagon鈥檚 legislative affairs staff continues to engage with him, a defense official said on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the issue. Also, Defense Department staff met with Senate Armed Services Committee staff in July to go over the details of DOD鈥檚 reproductive health care policy.

The Pentagon to date has not provided data on the number of servicemembers who have relied on the new policy to get access to an abortion, citing privacy issues. It emphasizes that the new policy was in response to the Supreme Court鈥檚 Dobbs decision, which created a situation where federal troops serving in one state may not have access to the same type of reproductive services available in others.

As many as 650 nominations could be affected by the end of the year if the impasse continues. But if Republican leaders are pressuring Mr. Tuberville to end his holds, they are not doing so publicly.

鈥淚鈥檓 hoping that the conversations that occur this week and the conversations that Senator Tuberville has had with the military leadership will lead to a breakthrough at some point,鈥� said Sen. John Thune, the No. 2 Republican in the Senate.

The Pentagon said the number of promotions on hold in the Senate has reached 98 in the Air Force, 91 in the Army, 86 in the Navy, 18 in the Marines, and 8 in the Space Force.

Some Republicans have suggested that Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., could hold votes on some of the most critical nominations. But Mr. Schumer rejected that approach.

鈥淭he bottom line is this is a problem created by Republicans and it鈥檚 up to them to solve it,鈥� Mr. Schumer said.

Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., said he would like for Mr. Schumer to schedule a vote on the Pentagon reimbursement policy, but if it fails, which it most assuredly would, 鈥渋t鈥檚 now time to get these people promoted.鈥�

鈥淚鈥檇 like to vote to rescind the policy, but I鈥檓 not going to hold the military up in perpetuity,鈥� Mr. Graham said.

Sen. Roger Wicker, the ranking Republican on the Senate Armed Services committee, was asked if he had any recommendations or guidance for Mr. Tuberville that could resolve the impasse.

鈥淚鈥檓 out of ideas,鈥� Mr. Wicker said.

This story was reported by The Associated Press.