Army Secretary Christine Wormuth warned Tuesday of a potential ‘talent drain’ among the service’s officers if a single senator’s hold on senior military promotions continues.

The Army’s top civilian said mid-career officers could choose to retire early instead of facing potential issues brought by Sen. Tommy Tuberville’s blockade on promotions for generals and admirals. Tuberville, R-Ala., has for seven months blocked normally uncontroversial procedural votes to confirm senior military officers in batches over his objection to a Pentagon policy allowing service members paid leave and expense reimbursements for travel related to reproductive health care, including abortions.

“I’m very worried about the longer-term downstream effects, which I think are growing stronger and stronger,” Wormuth said during a discussion at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, a Washington think tank. “Our majors, our lieutenant colonels, our colonels are looking at this, and I think saying, ‘Do I want to put my family through this … if this is what happens when you become a general officer? Maybe I’d rather retire now and go and work in industry or work in some other area.

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However, the , which might be helping the service weather Tuberville’s block and a recruiting crisis, Wormuth said. The military’s largest branch will miss its enlistment goal for a second straight year, and Tuberville’s hold, she argued, could deepen recruiting and retention challenges.

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