President Trump posted a statement on Truth Social on Sunday night calling on Joe Biden to fire Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin for “improper professional conduct and dereliction of duty.”
Austin (70 years old) has been serving as Secretary of Defense since the beginning of the Biden administration in January 2021. Austin was criticized after the Pentagon revealed on Friday that he had been secretly suffering from a serious illness in the intensive care unit since Monday without informing Joe Biden, the White House. staff or Congress for three or four days in a row.
Austin's job is reportedly secure for now, as Biden spoke to him on the phone on Saturday.
“Failed Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin should be fired immediately for unbecoming professional conduct and dereliction of duty,” Trump said. “He has been missing for one week, and no one, including his boss, the crooked Joe Biden, has a clue where he is.” His presence or whereabouts. He has performed poorly, and should have been fired long ago, along with “General” Mark Milley, for many reasons, but in particular the disastrous surrender in Afghanistan, perhaps the most embarrassing moment in our country's history!
Austin underwent an elective medical procedure on Dec. 22 and was transferred to Walter Reed National Military Medical Center in Bethesda, Maryland, due to severe pain, according to a Pentagon statement issued Sunday evening to reporters. The statement also said Austin was treated in the ICU and remains in the ICU for “privacy” even though he no longer requires that level of care.
Three days after his December 22 medical procedure, pro-Hamas demonstrators held a protest at dawn on Christmas Day at Austin's Falls Church, Virginia, home (it is not known if Austin was home at the time):
🚨Break! Activists send a wake-up call on Christmas morning to the US Secretary of Defense @SecDef Lloyd Austin, chanting “Austin, Austin, shine and shine, no sleep during genocide!” #Free Palestine #Close_it_for_Palestine pic.twitter.com/0Yg9SCFbok
– People's Forum (@PeoplesForumNYC) December 25, 2023
Today Palestinian solidarity activists gathered at the home of Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin to say No Christmas to war criminals! pic.twitter.com/vSovmBnqEp
— DC Youth Communist League (@DC_YCL) December 25, 2023
Politico reported on Biden's phone call with Austin and why his job is safe (excerpt):
…However, Biden had a “cordial conversation” with his defense secretary on Saturday evening, according to a US official. “The president has full confidence in Secretary Austin,” the official said. A National Security Council spokesperson echoed that sentiment, noting that Biden “looks forward to it.” [Austin] Back to the Pentagon.”
Four officials said Austin's job appears secure for now, especially after the phone call with Biden. They argued that it was a rare flaw in a strong term – persuading Western countries to send advanced weapons to Ukraine, although Austin's critics point out that he oversaw a messy military withdrawal from Afghanistan.
Officials also noted that it was an election year, that Biden and Austin are very close because of the former general's friendship with the late president's son Beau Biden — they attended a Catholic Mass while serving in Iraq — and that it would be difficult to get another defense secretary confirmed by the Senate.
On Sunday night, The Washington Post also reported that Austin's job was safe (excerpts):
A senior official, who like others spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss the situation, pointed to what he described as an “exceptionally close relationship” between Austin and Biden, whose son Beau served as a military lawyer under Austin when he was a senior US commander. Iraq.
“There is a lot of trust on both sides, and this incident has not diminished that trust one bit,” this person said. He added, “The President looks forward to the minister's continued service.”
A White House official said Biden has “full confidence” in Austin and looks forward to his return to the Pentagon.
…If Biden himself was frustrated or anxious, he took little noticeable action as a result. On the evening of January 6, after news of Austin's condition was announced and panic spread throughout the capital, Biden spoke by phone with Austin in what officials described as a warm conversation and the president wished him well in his recovery.
Biden has also long felt a sense of loyalty to Austin. After Austin returned from Iraq, where he attended a Catholic Mass with Beau Biden, he and the younger Biden stayed in touch.
The House Armed Services Committee issued a “strongly worded” joint statement on Sunday by Chairman Mike Rogers (R-IL) and Ranking Member Adam Smith (D-WA):
U.S. Representatives Mike Rogers (R-IL) and Adam Smith (D-WA), Chairman and Ranking Member of the House Armed Services Committee, issued the following statement regarding Secretary of Defense Lloyd J. Austin III's recent hospitalization.
“While we hope for a speedy recovery for Austin, we are concerned with how the revelation of the Secretary's condition will be handled. Several questions remain unanswered, including what the medical procedure was and the complications resulting from it, what the Secretary's current health status is, and how and when the Secretary's responsibilities were delegated.” The reason for the delay in notifying the President and Congress.
“Transparency is critical. Again. Austin needs to provide these additional details about his health and the decision-making process that occurred last week as soon as possible.
Donald Trump Jr. got to the heart of the matter in a post Sunday afternoon, saying: “The Deep State doesn't even bother telling Biden that his Secretary of Defense has been hospitalized and out for 4 days because they know he can't understand what that means anyway.” They think they are in charge and don't need to follow the legal chain of command!
The deep state doesn't care about telling Biden that his Secretary of Defense has been hospitalized and out of duty for 4 days because they know he can't understand what that means anyway and they think they are in charge and don't need to. To follow the legal chain of command! https://t.co/D2WENRchzf
– Donald Trump Jr. (@DonaldJTrumpJr) January 7, 2024
