Gen. David Hodne, the head of the U.S. Army Transformation and Training Command who was fired April 2nd by Secretary Pete Hegseth, was one of the over 300 military nominations blocked by Sen. Tommy Tuberville (R-AL) over the Biden Defense Department's abortion coverage policy in 2023. Sen. Joni Ernst (R-IA), a veteran of the U.S. Army Reserve & Iowa Army National Guard, spoke on the Senate floor in Nov. 2023 in support of then-Major Gen. Hodne's nomination to be promoted to Lt. General: He "was awarded the Defense Superior Service Medal; the Legion of Merit three times; the Bronze Star Medal not once, not twice, not three times, ladies and gentlemen, but four times; and a Purple Heart, which means he was injured in the line of duty." @cspan(Craig Caplan)