Sen. Tammy Duckworth, D-Ill., is warning she’ll block a slew of military promotions unless Army Lt. Col. Alexander Vindman — vilified by President Donald Trump after his impeachment testimony — gets one of his own.
Duckworth, a retired Army lieutenant colonel who lost both legs in Iraq, said she’s ready to hold up 1,123 promotions until Defense Secretary Mark Esper confirms he won’t scuttle "the expected and deserved promotion" of Vindman to colonel, Military.com reported.
Vindman, a former Ukraine expert on the National Security Council and Purple Heart recipient, testified at the House impeachment hearings he knew about a phone call between Trump and Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky in which Trump allegedly warned military aid would be held up unless there was a probe of Joe Biden’s son Hunter's dealings in Ukraine.
After Trump was acquitted by the Senate, Vindman was fired at the NSCl and escorted from the White House. Trump defended the ouster and called Vindman “insubordinate.”
In her statement, Duckworth said any promotion hold-up won’t include Army Gen. Gus Perna, commander of U.S. Army Materiel Command, who has been nominated by Trump to help lead the development of a vaccine for COVID-19, Military.com reported.
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