As wars continue in Gaza and Ukraine, former President Donald Trump called on the Biden administration to fire Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin for failing to inform the White House that he was hospitalized.
The Republican presidential front-runner said Austin “must be terminated immediately for his professional misconduct and dereliction of duty.”
“He's been missing for a week and no one, including his boss, Crooked Joe Biden, had a clue where he was or might be,” he said. I wrote it on Truth Social Sunday.
“His performance was poor and he should have been removed along with 'General' Mark Milley for many reasons, but especially his devastating surrender in Afghanistan, which was perhaps the most embarrassing moment in our nation's history,” Trump said. the president added.
President Trump's sharp comments come after it was revealed that not even Austin's aide, Kathleen Hicks, was informed that the defense secretary had been rushed to the intensive care unit at Walter Reed Army Medical Center on New Year's Day. It came out inside. CNN reported.
He also failed to tell President Biden for three days that he was hospitalized and that he had assigned at least some of his duties to Hicks, who was on a scheduled vacation in Puerto Rico.
However, it remains unclear to what extent Austin's duties were delegated to Hicks, or whether Austin was involved in major decisions during his hospital stay.
But many Republicans and Pentagon officials have called on Austin to address the secrecy surrounding his absence.
“It's inconceivable that at a time when we have allies at war in Eastern Europe and here in Israel, American military leaders at the Pentagon were off duty for several days and the American president wasn't.” “No,” former Vice President Mike Pence said. He said this on CNN's “State of the Union” on Sunday.
“I think this was a dereliction of duty. Frankly, the Secretary and the administration need to come forward and tell the American people the facts.”
Meanwhile, in Congress, Sen. Roger Wicker, the top Republican on the Senate Armed Services Committee, accused the Pentagon of failing to provide information to Congress as required by law, saying the issue was a threat to confidence in the Biden administration. He said it would only further damage it.
“When one of our two national military authorities is unable to accomplish its mission, military families, members of Congress, and the American people have a right to know the full extent of the situation,” he said. Posted in X.
and Rep. Jim Banks, a Republican from Indiana and a member of the House Armed Services Committee. told Axios Austin “has been a disaster from day one and should be replaced by someone whose focus is on getting the military ready to fight and win wars, rather than advancing Biden's woke political causes.” [administration.]”
Sen. Tom Cotton also said in a statement that if Biden truly did not know about Austin's hospitalization, “there must be some consequence to this shocking breakdown.”
Even an unidentified Pentagon official objected to Austin's failure to report his hospitalization, telling CNN: Did they have the wherewithal to notify the White House?
“I'm surprised no one has used the word 'cover-up' yet,” the official said.
A senior Pentagon official also told CNN that Austin was given “strict orders not to have any contact with him and to rest” while he was in the hospital.
He added that Austin speaks daily with Israeli Yoav Gallant, but no phone conversation took place last week.
However, Austin was on alert and was reportedly following up on a pre-planned military attack in Baghdad on January 4th.
He was rushed to the hospital on New Year's Day due to complications from an elective surgery he underwent on December 22nd.
He returned home the next day, but by January 1, he “began experiencing severe pain,” Maj. Gen. Pat Ryder told the nation Friday.
“He was placed in the hospital's intensive care unit for immediate access due to medical necessity, but remained there thereafter due to hospital space and privacy concerns,” Ryder said. he said.
Mr. Austin reported his hospitalization the next day to the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, who is not part of his chain of command.
Others were not notified until Friday, but Ryder claimed that Austin's chief of staff, Kelly Magsamen, was “unable to notify them earlier” due to her own illness.
Ryder also said that Austin transferred “certain operational responsibilities that require secure communication capabilities at all times” to Hicks on January 2, and that she will be responsible for the Pentagon's “day-to-day operational and administrative duties.” “The decision was made,” he told CNN.
However, she did not learn that Austin was hospitalized until Thursday, at which point she began making emergency plans to return to Washington, D.C., as Austin was expected to return to full duty by Friday. I decided to stay in Puerto Rico.
Ryder said Sunday night that the defense secretary is now “recovering well” and is “doing well” in hospital.
“Since resuming his duties on Friday night, the Secretary has received operational updates and provided necessary guidance to his team,” Ryder said.
“He has full access to the necessary secure communications capabilities and continues to oversee the day-to-day operations of the Department of Defense around the world.
“The Secretary met with President Biden yesterday. He has been in contact with Deputy Secretary of Defense Kathleen Hicks, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff CQ Brown Jr., and his senior staff members,” it added.
Ryder also said Austin has “no plans to resign” and that the Pentagon is “considering the impact of statutory reporting requirements and will provide updates as appropriate.”
Meanwhile, Austin said he takes full responsibility for the communications violations.
“We understand that the media is concerned about transparency, and we recognize that we could have done a better job of ensuring the public is properly informed,” he said.
“We are committed to doing better,” he said in a statement. “But this is important: This is my medical procedure, and I take full responsibility for any disclosure decisions.”
