- Democratic Senator Tammy Duckworth of Illinois lifted her grip on the promotions of more than 1,000 military service members, after confirmation from the Defense Department that she had officially approved the tentative promotion of Lt. Col. Alexander Vindman.
- “I am pleased that the Defense Department has finally been able to clarify the record that Vindman had earned and was ready to receive a promotion to the colonel,” he said in a statement. “We must always protect the merit-based system that underlies our Armed Forces from political corruption and illegal retaliation.”
- Duckworth effectively stopped the promotions and demanded a response to whether Vindman’s promotion to colonel was approved by the Department of Defense before it was supposed to reach the White House for final approval.
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Democratic Senator Tammy Duckworth of Illinois lifted her grip on the promotions of more than 1,000 military service members, after confirmation from the Defense Department that she had officially approved the tentative promotion of Lt. Col. Alexander Vindman.
“Donald Trump’s unprecedented efforts to further politicize our military by retaliating against Lt. Col. Vindman – for fulfilling his patriotic duty to tell the truth under oath – are outsized,” Duckworth said in a statement Tuesday.
“I am glad that the Defense Department has finally been able to make things clear that Vindman had earned himself and was ready to receive a promotion to the Colonel,” he added. “We must always protect the merit-based system that underlies our Armed Forces from political corruption and illegal retaliation.”
Duckworth’s statement comes days after she delayed promotions for 1,123 military officers. Duckworth, who is on the Armed Service Committee, effectively halted the promotions and demanded a response on whether Vindman’s promotion to colonel was approved by the Department of Defense before it is supposed to reach the White House for final approval.
Vindman, a 21-year veteran of the US Army and recipient of Purple Heart, resigned last Wednesday before the White House could make his decision.
Vindman’s promotion was speculated to be uncertain; particularly after he drew the president’s ire for complying with a congressional subpoena for impeachment proceedings. After Vindman’s testimony, Trump unfoundedly claimed that he broke the chain of command and “leaked” details of his conversation with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.
The president previously suggested that the military was to explore disciplinary action against Vindman, which never materialized, and fired him from the National Security Council as its Ukrainian-Russian expert. Vindman’s twin brother, U.S. Army Lt. Col. Yevgeny Vindman, was also fired from the NSC.
After Vindman’s retirement, Duckworth praised him for his service and accused Defense Secretary Mark Esper and Trump of intimidating him into retirement.
“Lt. Col. Vindman’s decision to withdraw highlights Defense Secretary Mark Esper’s failure to protect a decorated combat veteran against a vengeful commander-in-chief,” he said in a previous statement. “Secretary Esper’s failure to protect his troops sets a dark new precedent that any Commander-in-Chief can interfere with routine merit-based military promotions to carry out personal vengeance and retaliation against duly summoned military officers authorized while fulfilling their oath of office and basic principles of service. “
