Trump Calls For Dismissal Of Defense Secretary Austin
Former President Donald Trump thinks that Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin should be terminated after he failed to tell anyone for days that he was hospitalized. Austin, who had compilations from an elective surgery, was checked into Walter Reed National Military Medical Center last week. But neither the White House nor top national security officials were informed of his whereabouts.
In a post on Truth Social, the GOP presidential candidate called for a strict decision from President Joe Biden.
“Failed Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin should be fired immediately for improper professional conduct and dereliction of duty. 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,” Trump’s post read.
“He has performed poorly, and should have been dismissed long ago, along with ‘General’ Mark Milley, for many reasons, but in particular the catastrophic surrender in Afghanistan, perhaps the most embarrassing moment in the history of our Country!” he added.
https://twitter.com/feedynewsUS/status/1744382090370818404?s=20
Austin never notified anyone about his hospitalization on Jan. 1 until Jan. 4. During his time at the hospital, he passed on some of his responsibilities onto Deputy Defense Secretary Kathleen Hicks. Hicks, who was reportedly on vacation in Puerto Rico, also was not informed of Austin’s condition.
In a statement on Jan. 6, Austin addressed the media, saying, “I also understand the media concerns about transparency and I recognize I could have done a better job ensuring the public was appropriately informed. I commit to doing better. But this is important to say: this was my medical procedure, and I take full responsibility for my decisions about disclosure.”
However, he did not address or apologize for his failure to notify appropriate authorities of his condition. He also did not speak about the specifics of what led to his hospitalization, even though he thanked “the amazing doctors and nursing staff at Walter Reed for the exceptional care they have delivered to me.”
He also said that he is “on the mend” and will be back at the Pentagon soon.
While there have been calls for the dismissal or resignation of Austin, Biden reportedly “continues to have complete confidence” in him, according to White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre.
In a press briefing on Monday, Jean-Pierre said Austin had “taken responsibility” for his lack of transparency in his Jan 6. Statement.
Responding to a reporter that asked if Americans should continue to have confidence in him after his failure, she said, “So, I want to go back to Austin’s statement a couple of days ago, where he has taken responsibility, and so I think that’s important, so I would point you to that. And I will just reiterate that the president has complete confidence, continues to have confidence in Secretary Austin.”