Rep. Cory Mills (R-FL) and other House Republicans are calling on Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin to resign following a scandal around his failure to disclose his hospitalization.
The White House faced a crisis in the first week of the new year when it appeared that the Department of Defense was running without a head. Austin was hospitalized on Jan. 1 over complications from a Dec. 22 surgery but has continued his duties as defense secretary since Jan. 5. The White House was unaware of the hospitalization for some time, leading to intense scrutiny.
Mills and Reps. Jeff Duncan (R-SC), Matt Rosendale (R-MT), and Anna Paulina Luna (R-FL) wrote a letter to Austin on Friday, requesting his resignation over the debacle.
“I write today with grave concern regarding your failure to communicate your recent
incapacitation to the White House, Congress, your subordinates, and the American people,” the letter read. “Your lack of communication and your team’s lack of awareness of this situation constitutes a breach of our national security. These actions call into question your judgement, that of your team, and that of the Biden Administration. Considering these failures, I ask for your immediate resignation
from your role as Secretary of Defense.”
“Either your team failed to follow the necessary notification procedures, or they ignored the necessary procedures,” it continued. “Both are unacceptable and reflect poorly on your leadership.”
In a statement to the Washington Examiner, Mills wished Austin a speedy recovery but said that his actions had jeopardized the United States’s national security.
“While I wish Secretary Lloyd Austin a speedy recovery, his decision to not notify President Biden and NSA Sullivan, among others, is a huge national security breach and he may have violated U.S. Code by not disclosing his temporary vacancy,” he said.
Mills stressed the difficult position the U.S. faces worldwide and how dangerous the episode has been for the country.
“Given increased threats and attacks on troops abroad, I am demanding his immediate resignation,” Mills said before noting that “he has demonstrated a dereliction of duty more than once.”
Last August, Mills introduced articles of impeachment against Austin due to the “botched and shameful handling of the Biden administration’s withdrawal in Afghanistan.”
“In a time where our country is facing countless aggressions — due to the current weakness of the administration — we must start holding those accountable for not only failing the American people but putting their safety in jeopardy. Americans deserve transparency and accountability, and that’s what we intend to provide,” he added Friday.
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Rep. Chris Deluzio (D-PA) became the first congressional Democrat to call for Austin’s resignation on Wednesday, using a similar sentiment.
“I have lost trust in Secretary Lloyd Austin’s leadership of the Defense Department due to the lack of transparency about his recent medical treatment and its impact on the continuity of the chain of command,” he said. “I have a solemn duty in Congress to conduct oversight of the Defense Department through my service on the House Armed Services Committee. That duty today requires me to call on Secretary Austin to resign.”
