Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin needs to be fired for not immediately disclosing his hospitalization over the weekend, according to former President Donald Trump.
“Failed Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin should be fired immediately for improper professional conduct and dereliction of duty,” Trump posted on his social media platform Truth Social on Sunday. “He has been missing for one week, and nobody, including his boss, Crooked Joe Biden, had a clue as to where he was, or might be. … [He] should have been dismissed long ago.”
Last week, Austin didn’t disclose that he experienced complications from a surgical procedure and had to be admitted to the Walter Reed National Military Medical Center.
In fact, reports swirled that his deputy wasn’t even made aware of the situation right away.
Despite what would appear to be a complete disregard for his duties, Austin is not planning to resign from his post.
“He remains focused on conducting his duties as secretary of defense in defense of our nation,” Maj. Gen. Patrick Ryder, a spokesperson for the DOD, told reporters recently.
Senior White House officials also said that even if Austin were to resign, President Joe Biden wouldn’t accept the resignation.
Biden does not answer questions about Lloyd Austin going to the ICU without telling anybody
— The Post Millennial (@TPostMillennial) January 8, 2024
“[Biden] respects the fact that Secretary Austin took ownership for the lack of transparency,” said John Kirby, the spokesperson for the National Security Council. “Our main focus right now is on Secretary Austin’s health and making sure he gets all the care and support he needs to fully recover.”
The entire situation has been veiled in secrecy for days now. No one is saying why Austin needed to be hospitalized or what surgery he had that resulted in complications. The DOD has protected its leader to this point, citing privacy concerns for sharing any more information.
For his part, Austin defended his right to privacy, only saying he takes “full responsibility for my decisions about disclosure.”
In the meantime, Republicans are likely to continue pressing the Biden administration for more information about the incident, and for the president to take sound and decisive action to ensure something like this doesn’t happen again.
