Published January 14, 2024
On Friday’s broadcast of NewsNation’s “The Hill,” Rep. Seth Moulton (D-MA) stated that while the decision on whether Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin keeps his job is up to President Joe Biden, “I would fire him in about five minutes.” And “I can’t even imagine it happening when I was a 15-year-old busboy. If I was going to be out for a week, I had to tell my boss.”
Moulton said, “What he did is completely unacceptable. I can’t imagine that happening at the lowest levels of the military chain of command, like where I was, as a mere lieutenant platoon commander in Iraq. I can’t even imagine it happening when I was a 15-year-old busboy. If I was going to be out for a week, I had to tell my boss. So, this is a major breakdown in the chain of command and the commander-in-chief needs to make a decision here. It’s up to the President as to whether he fires Secretary Austin, but I’ll tell you what, he needs to send a decisive message that this is never going to happen again.”
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SOURCE: www.breitbart.com
RELATED: Biden says Austin still has his confidence, but not revealing hospitalization was lapse in judgment
Published January 13, 2024
EMMAUS, Pennsylvania (AP) — President Joe Biden said Friday that it was a lapse in judgment for Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin not to tell him about his hospitalization last week, but he still has confidence in his Pentagon chief.
Speaking to reporters as he toured local businesses outside Allentown, Pennsylvania, Biden said “yes” when asked if it was a lapse in judgment for Austin not to tell him about his condition. He replied, “I do,” when asked if he still had confidence in Austin’s leadership.
Austin, 70, remains hospitalized as he is being treated for complications from prostate cancer surgery. His failure to disclose his hospitalization has been sharply criticized by members of both political parties and has led to some calls for his resignation.
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SOURCE: www.apnews.com
RELATED: Lloyd Austin Confronts the Perils of Being a Private Man in a Public Job
President Biden said his defense secretary made an error in judgment in not keeping the White House informed of his hospitalization. But keeping a low profile has long defined the Pentagon chief.
Defense Secretary Lloyd J. Austin III, the former commander of United States Central Command, brought 40 years of service with him when he took the top Pentagon job in 2021.Credit…Stefani Reynolds for The New York Times
Published January 13, 2024
For three years, President Biden has been just fine with the private nature of his media-shy, introverted defense secretary, Lloyd J. Austin III.
But in failing to inform the president that he required surgery for prostate cancer, and that he later had to return to the hospital suffering from severe complications, Mr. Austin, 70, has not only attracted more attention to himself than at any point in his long career. He has also drawn scrutiny and criticism to Mr. Biden’s national security team during a period when it is managing multiple crises around the world.
Asked about Mr. Austin on Friday, Mr. Biden said he retained confidence in him. But the president gave a pointed, one-syllable answerwhen asked if it was a lapse in judgment for Mr. Austin not to have informed him that he had been out of commission at times in recent weeks. “Yes,” he said.
