President Joe Biden and Congresswoman Terri Sewell publicly mocked U.S. Senator Tommy Tuberville on Twitter this week after the senator touted the benefits of broadband internet funds from a bill he voted against.
“Broadband is vital for the success of our rural communities and for our entire economy,” read a tweet from Tuberville’s official account. “Great to see Alabama receive crucial funds to boost ongoing broadband efforts.”
He was referencing this week’s announcement that Alabama will receive $1.4 billion to improve access to broadband from the 2021 Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, which Tuberville opposed.
Broadband is vital for the success of our rural communities and for our entire economy.
Great to see Alabama receive crucial funds to boost ongoing broadband efforts. https://t.co/bLvQlSS3LH
— Coach Tommy Tuberville (@SenTuberville) June 27, 2023
Sewell quoted Tuberville’s tweet with an animated graphic showing his “Nay” vote from the congressional record with a side-eye emoji and linking to the roll call vote.
👀 https://t.co/oSaKbxhfkI https://t.co/8JIJDoT63h pic.twitter.com/CDkXw0KVUv
— Rep. Terri A. Sewell (@RepTerriSewell) June 27, 2023
Members of the state’s congressional delegation are rarely critical of each other in public. Even when asked about partisan issues, Alabama’s federal lawmakers traditionally go out of their way not to level criticism at each other.
Tuberville also caught flack from the President of the United States. Biden’s account tweeted “See you at the groundbreaking,” in an apparent effort to mock the senator.
See you at the groundbreaking. https://t.co/1kJZ2h3JZW
— President Biden (@POTUS) June 28, 2023
Not meaning to take the mockery lying down, Tuberville fired back at Biden, asking “The groundbreaking for Space Command in Huntsville?”
NBC News reported in May that the Biden administration was ready to reverse plans to permanently locate U.S. Space Command in Huntsville, partly due to Alabama’s strict abortion laws and Tuberville’s recent efforts to block military promotion votes in the Senate in an attempt to force the Pentagon to reverse its recently updated policy to pay for service members or their families to seek abortions in states with less restrictive policies.
The groundbreaking for Space Command in Huntsville? https://t.co/EWQg1QIuVK
— Coach Tommy Tuberville (@SenTuberville) June 28, 2023
The White House later denied the reporting, saying the long-delayed Space Command decision wouldn’t be based on politics. At the time, Sewell urged Biden to reconfirm Huntsville’s selection, saying “to change course would be because of politics and not merit… Surely, the Biden Administration would not allow politics to improperly influence this decision.”
On the broadband issue, Tuberville at the time said he supports the expansion of broadband into rural areas, but he opposed the final bill because it was “loaded with giveaways to big cities and pet project.”
“I’ve said all along I’d be for a bill that invests every penny of every dollar in improvements to our roads, bridges, waterways, and rural broadband,” Tuberville said in 2021 after passage of the bill. “Unfortunately, Democrats have missed an opportunity to deliver the bill that the American people truly need. Instead, the final legislation is loaded with giveaways to big cities and pet projects that have little to do with real infrastructure. Worse, we’re using fuzzy math and IOU’s to hide the real cost of this massive legislation. I can’t vote for a bill that fails to give Alabama a fair slice of the pie while also saddling Alabama taxpayers with even more debt.”