Sen. Tommy Tuberville on Tuesday sent a letter to Senate leaders he said was signed by more than 5,000 veterans who support his hold on military nominees over abortion.

The letter to Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky.,, was sent the same day a liberal group that advocates for veterans released an ad criticizing the hold on Alabama broadcast television stations.

“The undersigned stand united in condemning this policy. This policy is not just illegal, it shamefully politicizes the military, circumvents the authority of Congress, and exceeds the authority of the Department of Defense,” the veterans said.

The DOD policies allow service members to request administrative absence for “non-covered reproductive health services,” which includes elective abortions and IVF, for themselves or to accompany their partners.

The policies also provide transportation allowances to travel to states where reproductive care is more expansive.

Additionally, the new policies would allow service members to wait up to 20 weeks before disclosing their pregnancies.

In response to the DOD policies, Tuberville is blocking the nominations of more than 2,500 military officers, including Air Force Chief of Staff C.Q. Brown, President Biden’s nominee for chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.

“The mission of the United States military is to defend and protect all American lives – not subsidize the practice of destroying innocent and vulnerable American children via abortion with taxpayer dollars,” said the veterans who signed the letter. “By pledging to hold these nominations to the Department of Defense until administration officials reverse course, Senator Tuberville is doing a great service for the American people – including its service members.”

Meanwhile, VoteVets, a left-leaning group that bills itself as the largest group of progressive veterans in the country, expanded its social media ad criticizing Tuberville’s hold to television stations in Alabama on Tuesday.

The ad, titled “Situation,” begins with an empty conference table to symbolize military leaders who have not been confirmed because of the holds and footage of Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese President Xi Jinping.

A blaring red alarm then appears on the screen as video of Tuberville plays.

“For months, one lone senator, Tommy Tuberville, who never served in uniform himself, has held hostage hundreds of military assignments just to force his MAGA social agenda on women in the ranks,” the narrator says. “Freezing all promotions for top military posts to the chair of the joint chiefs of staff, leaving mission critical positions to go vacant.”

The narrator then goes on to say that America’s enemies “are watching, looking for any vulnerabilities to exploit. And MAGA Sen. Tommy Tuberville is playing right into their hands, playing political games with our national security. And not one Republican in Congress will stand up to him and let our troops keep us safe.”