Former President Donald Trump called on the Biden administration to fire Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin after he failed to notify the White House that he was hospitalized as the war raged in Gaza and Ukraine.
The Republican presidential front-runner said Austin “should be fired immediately for unprofessional conduct and dereliction of duty.”
“She’s been missing for a week, and no one, including her boss, Crooked Joe Biden, has a clue as to where she is or might be,” he wrote on Truth Social Sunday.
“He performed poorly and should be fired along with ‘General’ Mark Milley, for many reasons, but in particular, the disastrous handover in Afghanistan, perhaps the most shameful moment in our Nation’s history,” Trump added.
Trump’s pointed comments came as it was revealed that even Austin’s deputy, Kathleen Hicks, was not told that the Defense Secretary had been rushed to Walter Reed Army Medical Center’s intensive care unit on New Year’s Day, CNN reported.
He also failed to inform President Biden for three days that he was in the hospital and had delegated at least some of his duties to Hicks, who was on a scheduled vacation in Puerto Rico.
Calls are growing for Defense Sec. Lloyd Austin, right, is facing consequences for failing to inform President Biden that he was in the hospital. AP
But it remains unclear how much of Austin’s duties were delegated to Hicks or whether Austin was involved in any major decisions while at the hospital.
Many Republican and Pentagon officials, however, have asked Austin to address the secrecy surrounding his absence.
“To think that at a time when we have allies at war in Eastern Europe and here in Israel, that the head of the American military at the Pentagon is going to be out of action for a few days, and the President of the United States doesn’t “I don’t know about that,” said former Vice President Mike Pence in CNN’s “State of the Union” Sunday.
“I think it’s a dereliction of duty and the secretary and the administration, frankly, need to step forward and give the American people the facts.”
“She has been missing for a week, and no one, including her boss, Crooked Joe Biden, has a clue as to where she is or might be,” Trump wrote. @realDonaldTrump / Truth Social
Meanwhile, in Congress, Senator Roger Wicker, the top Republican on the Senate Armed Services Committee, accused the Pentagon of failing to notify Congress — as required by law — and said it only undermined confidence in the Biden administration.
“When one of the two branches of government cannot perform their duties, military families, members of Congress and the American people deserve to know the full extent of the situation,” he said. posted on X.
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Rep. Jim Banks, a Republican from Indiana and a member of the House Armed Services Committee, also told Axios that Austin “has been a disaster since Day One and should be replaced by someone who will focus on preparing the military to fight and win wars instead of advancing Biden’s political causes.” [administration.]”
And Sen. Tom Cotton said in a statement that if Biden really didn’t know about Austin’s hospitalization, “there must be consequences for this shocking damage.”
Even an unidentified Pentagon official spoke out against Austin’s failure to report his hospitalization, telling CNN: “There are all these people around the secretary at all times, who are managing him and helping him every day, and nobody has a way to tell the White House ?
“I’m surprised nobody uses the word ‘cover-up’ anymore,” the official said.
A senior Pentagon official also told CNN that they were under “strict orders not to contact him and let him rest” while Austin was in the hospital.
He added that while Austin talks to his Israeli counterpart, Yoava Gallant, every day, no calls were made last week.
But Austin is reportedly on alert and tracking a pre-planned military strike in Baghdad on January 4.
Trump called for Austin to be fired following his hospital stay. AFP via Getty Images
He was rushed to the hospital on New Year’s Day following complications from the elective surgery he underwent on Dec. 22.
He returned home the next day, but on Jan. 1, he “started to experience severe pain,” Major General Pat Ryder told the crowd on Friday.
“He was placed in the hospital’s intensive care unit to ensure immediate access due to his medical needs, but later remained in that location, partly due to considerations of hospital space and privacy,” Ryder said.
Austin informed the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of his hospitalization the next day, but the chairman was not in the chain of command.
Others were not notified until Friday, with Ryder claiming that Austin’s chief of staff, Kelly Magsamen, “couldn’t make the notification before then” due to her own illness.
Ryder also told CNN that Austin transferred “certain operational responsibilities that require an ongoing secure communications capability” to Hicks on Jan. 2, and that he made “some routine operational and management decisions” for the Pentagon.
But she wasn’t informed that Austin was hospitalized until Thursday, at which point she began making contingency plans to return to DC, but since Austin was expected to return to full duty on Friday, she decided to stay in Puerto Rico.
The Defense Secretary is now “recovering well” and is in “good spirits” at the hospital, Ryder said Sunday night.
“Since resuming his duties on Friday evening, the Secretary has received operational updates and has provided the necessary guidance to his team,” Ryder said.
“He has full access to the necessary secure communications capabilities and continues to monitor DoD’s day-to-day operations around the world.
“The secretary spoke with President Biden yesterday. He has been in contact with Deputy Secretary of Defense Kathleen Hicks, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. CQ Brown Jr. and his senior staff,” he added.
Ryder also said Austin “has no plans to resign,” and said the Pentagon is “considering the impact of any statutory reporting requirements and will provide updates as appropriate.”
Meanwhile, Austin said he took full responsibility for the communications breach.
He said he understands the media’s “concern about transparency, and I realize I can do a better job of making sure the public is properly informed.
“I am committed to doing better,” he said in a statement. “But this is important to say: this is my medical procedure, and I am fully responsible for my decisions about disclosure.”
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Source: thtrangdai.edu.vn/en/
