WATCH: Pentagon holds news briefing as officials criticize hold up of military promotions

The top civilian leaders of the Navy, Army and Air Force spoke out Monday against the holding up of military promotions by Sen. Tommy Tuberville, R-Ala., in an opinion article published in the Washington Post, saying the move puts national security at risk.

Watch the briefing in the player above.

Tuberville has blocked the promotions of military officers for the past six months after the Pentagon said it would provide assistance to service members seeking reproductive health care in the wake of the Supreme Court’s Dobbs decision that ended the constitutional right to an abortion.

Navy Secretary Carlos Del Toro, Air Force Secretary Frank Kendall and Army Secretary Christine Wormuth said the military’s decision was within the law and necessary to protect the health of service members.

“The senator asserts that this blanket and unprecedented ‘hold,’ which he has maintained for more than six months, is about opposition to Defense Department policies that ensure service members and their families have access to reproductive health no matter where they are stationed,” wrote the civilian leaders.

“Senators have many legislative and oversight tools to show their opposition to a specific policy. They are free to introduce legislation, gather support for that legislation and pass it. But placing a blanket hold on all general and flag officer nominees, who as apolitical officials have traditionally been exempt from the hold process, is unfair to these military leaders and their families,” the op-ed continued.

This story is developing and will be updated.