The battle over Pentagon abortion policy spilled into a classified Ukraine briefing on Wednesday as Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin confronted GOP Sen. Tommy Tuberville over his related blockade of military promotions, according to multiple people briefed on the meeting.

The Austin-Tuberville skirmish is only the latest sign that Tuberville’s holds on military promotions continue to consume the Senate — even as three top defense nominees began moving toward confirmation this week.

During a private all-senators briefing on Ukraine on Wednesday afternoon, both Austin and Secretary of State Tony Blinken raised questions about the continued Senate GOP delay of military promotions and ambassador confirmations. It was a direct challenge to Republicans in the room, like Tuberville, who are using their leverage to slow-walk Biden personnel, as recalled by people briefed on the meeting.

Some Republicans blanched at Austin and Blinken’s comments, given that the stated focus of the briefing was Ukraine.

Sen. Pete Ricketts (R-Neb.) told the Biden officials that many GOP senators agree with Tuberville’s opposition to the Pentagon’s abortion leave policy.

“He told Austin and Blinken it was ‘highly inappropriate’ to be using a classified briefing on Ukraine to lecture on an unrelated policy disagreement,” said Joanna Rodriguez, a spokesperson for Ricketts.

But to Democrats and the Biden administration, it was the perfect opportunity to make their point. Tuberville had just threatened to force votes on three high-level military promotions, forcing Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) to schedule votes on those nominees before Tuberville could make his move.

Meanwhile, hundreds of nominees are still unprocessed.

Austin “delivered a strong message to the senators that the blanket hold on nearly 300 nominees is harming national security, preventing our best officers from leading, and creating uncertainty for military families,” said a Defense Department official.

Though his broader message was intended for the whole Senate, Austin directly asked Tuberville to lift his hold, the official added.

It’s not clear where the conflict goes now, after Schumer changed up his strategy of holding all the delayed nominees together; Democrats had feared that it might set a bad precedent to push through the obstructive move by confirming only individual high-ranking nominees.

Tuberville made clear this week that his position has not changed and that he might try again to force votes on other individual nominees.

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