The chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee criticized Alabama Sen. Tommy Tuberville in a press release Friday night, slamming comments Tuberville made about the lack of a need for military promotions.

Sen. Jack Reed, a Democrat from Rhode Island, said Tuberville’s statements were a “smoking gun confession” that “demonstrates how Senate Republicans are doing nothing to help end his blockade.” Reed also said he hoped Tuberville would retract his statement.

Tuberville has been blocking Senate-confirmed military promotions since February to protest a new Pentagon policy providing financial aid benefits to service members traveling to obtain an abortion. About 300 promotions are frozen by Tuberville’s hold.

Gen. Mark Milley, the nation’s top military officer as chair of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, this week said Tuberville’s actions are having a negative impact and affecting readiness.

Appearing on the Kimberly Guilfoyle Show podcast Thursday, Tuberville said, “I don’t care if we promote anybody, to be honest. We got 44 four-star generals right now. We only had seven during World War II, so I think we’re a little overloaded to begin with.”

It’s been 78 years since World War II ended in 1945. Tuberville’s interview begins at the 30-minute mark of Guilfoyle’s podcast.

The comments led Reed to issue the press release. Tuberville is also a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee.

“Our service members sacrifice so much to defend our nation and they deserve the very best, merit-based military leadership,” Reed said in the press release. “They also deserve elected leaders who actually do care. But this Republican blockade has left the Army, Navy, and Marines without confirmed leaders for the first time in history.

“How can any U.S. Senator not care about the promotions of honorable, hardworking military leaders who have dedicated their lives and careers to service? These are the best of the best and they risk their lives to defend our freedoms. Everyone should care and I hope Sen. Tuberville will rethink his indifference and retract his statement.”

Tuberville’s office did not immediately respond to a request for comment Saturday.

Top Republicans in the Senate, including Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, have said they do not support Tuberville’s holds on promotions.

“Similar to the way military officers hold each other to account, it’s time Senate Republican leaders bring their colleague into line and end this harmful blockade on merit-based military promotions,” Reed said in the press release.”

On the Guilfoyle podcast, Tuberville said he and the Pentagon are “at a standstill” on the issue.

The defense department spokeswoman told Stars & Stripes this week there was “no” chance the policy providing travel expenses and paid leave for abortion travel would be rescinded. The spokeswoman said the Pentagon had nothing to negotiate with in the stalemate and that it was up to Tuberville to end his block on promotions.

Tuberville spokesman Steven Stafford told the newspaper that the responsibility fell to Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin to end the abortion policy.

“Secretary Austin could end the holds today if he wanted to,” Stafford said. “But the Biden administration seems to think that illegally spending taxpayer dollars on abortion is more important than getting their senior military nominees confirmed. That is the tradeoff that Secretary Austin has made every single day since this started.”