After a single Republican lawmaker torpedoed a bid to stop Jan. 6 rioter Ashli Babbitt from receiving full military funeral honors, one Democratic senator — who is also a former Marine combat veteran — is leading a last-ditch attempt to have the Defense Department step in.
“Her conduct was a betrayal of her oath and a discredit to the uniform she wore,” Sen. Ruben Gallego (D-Ariz.), who saw combat and served in Iraq from 2002 to 2006, wrote to Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth on Friday.
“Ashli Babbitt was an active participant during the violent Capitol riot on Jan. 6, 2021, an insurrection that sought to overturn the certification of the 2020 presidential election results, block the peaceful transfer of power, and betray the oath to support and defend the Constitution that she herself had once sworn as an airman,” he wrote in a letter that was first shared with HuffPost.
Sen. Tami Duckworth (D-Ill.), who served as an Army helicopter pilot in the Iraq War, signed on to Gallego’s letter.
Gallego introduced a resolution to block Babbitt from receiving military honors on Tuesday. Speaking from the Senate floor, he recalled hearing the pounding on House chamber doors and watching his fellow lawmakers barricade the entrances with furniture.
