Former President Trump called for Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin to be fired from his job Monday after he failed to disclose he was hospitalized for four days last week.
“Failed Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin should be fired immediately for improper professional conduct and dereliction of duty,” Trump said in a Truth Social post Monday. “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 Pentagon revealed Friday that Austin had been hospitalized since Monday following complications from a previous surgery. Nobody outside the Department of Defense had been made aware of his absence, including President Biden, until Friday, raising concerns about government transparency.
“I am very glad to be on the mend and look forward to returning to the Pentagon soon,” Austin said in a statement Saturday. “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,” Austin added.
Austin returned to work Friday while still in the hospital, the Pentagon said.
It was not immediately clear what the elective medical procedure was. Austin, 70, is a retired Army four-star general who served more than 40 years in the military.
The Associated Press reported Saturday that Biden expressed confidence in Austin’s leadership despite the issue. On Monday, Reuters reported that Biden does not plan to remove Austin.
Multiple members of Congress have also criticized Austin over the incident, including House Armed Services Committee chair Rep. Mike Rogers (R-Ala.) and ranking member Rep. Adam Smith (D-Wa.).
“While we wish Sec. Austin a speedy recovery, we are concerned with how the disclosure of the Secretary’s condition was handled,” the pair said in a joint statement Sunday. “Several questions remain unanswered including what the medical procedure and resulting complications were, what the Secretary’s current health status is, how and when the delegation of the Secretary’s responsibilities were made, and the reason for the delay in notification to the President and Congress.”
“Transparency is vitally important,” they continued. “Sec. Austin must provide these additional details on his health and the decision-making process that occurred in the past week as soon as possible.”
The Pentagon Press Association, which represents journalists covering national defense, called the failure to disclose the hospitalization an “outrage.”
“At a time when there are growing threats to U.S. military service members in the Middle East and the U.S. is playing key national security roles in the wars in Israel and Ukraine, it is particularly critical for the American public to be informed about the health status and decision-making ability of its top defense leader,” the group said.