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Donald Trump calls for Llyod Austin's resignation over ‘secret’ hospitalisation, Pentagon reacts
Former President Donald Trump called on the Biden administration to immediately sack US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin over ‘secret’ hospitalisation.
After failing to notify the White House about his hospitalisation amid the wars in Ukraine and Israel, former President Donald Trump called on the Biden administration to immediately sack the US Secretary of Defence, Lloyd Austin. He also accused Austin of “improper professional conduct and dereliction of duty”.
"Failed Secretary of Defence Lloyd Austin should be fired immediately for improper professional conduct and dereliction of duty," Trump, the Republican presidential frontrunner, wrote on TruthSocial 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," the former president continued.
"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!" Trump wrote.
The ex-US president's sharp remarks coincided with the revelation that nobody, not even Austin's deputy Kathleen Hicks, knew that the Defence Secretary was admitted to the intensive care unit (ICU) of Walter Reed Army Medical Center on New Year's Day. Additionally, he also neglected to notify President Joe Biden about his hospitalisation for three days.
Also Read: US Defence Secy Austin returns after ‘secret’ ICU stint; Pentagon remains tight-lipped on discharge
Pentagon responds to Trump's calls for the resignation of Austin
Despite his unexpected and prolonged hospital stay, which was not even primarily disclosed to President Biden, Pentagon asserted that Austin is not resigning.
"Secretary Austin has no plans to resign," Major General Pat Ryder, press secretary for the Department of Defence, told Fox News Digital. "He remains focused on conducting his duties as Secretary of Defence in defence of our nation."
On December 22, 2023, Austin underwent a medical operation at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center and returned home the next day. He was admitted to the ICU on January 1, 2024, following complications after the surgery, according to the latest information published by the Pentagon on Sunday.
This information came after both Republicans and Democrats at Congress voiced their grave concerns over confidentiality surrounding his hospitalisation.
Meanwhile, Pentagon Press Secretary Major General Pat Ryder said information regarding Austin's hospitalisation was withheld from the media because of “medical and personal privacy issues”. For now, Austin has resumed his duties from the hospital.
Austin, Pentagon face ire over secret hospitalisation
The leading Republican on the Senate Armed Services Committee, Sen. Roger Wicker, accused the Pentagon of not informing Congress as required by law and claimed that the incident only helped to further erode confidence in the Biden administration in Congress.
“When one of our country’s two National Command authorities is unable to perform their duties, military families, members of Congress and the American people deserve to know the full extent of the circumstances,” he posted on X.
Rep. Jim Banks, a Republican from Indiana and a member of the House Armed Services Committee, told Axios that Austin “has been a disaster since Day One and should be replaced by someone who will focus on making the military ready to fight and win wars instead of advancing woke political causes of the Biden [administration.]”
Meanwhile, Sen. Tom Cotton issued a statement, stressing that if Biden really did not know about Austin’s hospitalisation, “there must be consequences for this shocking breakdown.”
