Trump Rips Austin For ‘Improper Professional Conduct & Dereliction Of Duty’ After Secretive Hospital Stay

Leading Republican presidential contender Donald Trump was never too keen on Biden’s Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin to begin with, but on Monday the former president unleashed in response to the growing scandal over Austin’s ‘secretive’ hospital stay, after having failed to disclose to the White House that he had been incapacitated for four days last week.

“Failed Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin should be fired immediately for improper professional conduct and dereliction of duty,” Trump stated in a Truth Social post on 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.”

File image: AFP

The 70-year old Pentagon chief and career Army general had experienced complications from a routine surgery and was hospitalized since Jan.1; however, the White House didn’t know of his absence from the top Pentagon post until Friday, which has sparked scandal over transparency in the Biden administration. The White House-appointed civilian head of the military was persona non grata and the Commander-in-Chief didn’t so much as know about it at a moment Washington is increasingly embroiled in major conflicts from Ukraine to Israel-Gaza to the Red Sea.

Austin acknowledged in a statement, “I recognize I could have done a better job ensuring the public was appropriately informed”—while claiming that he had been working from his hospital bed since Friday.

Politico has interviewed a number of top officials embroiled in the scandal and has concluded that “It’s also caused a major embarrassment for an administration that prides itself on professionalism, communication and teamwork — especially as it contrasts itself to the chaos of Donald Trump’s presidency.”

The situation, and questions that remain, has gotten to the level of officials openly questioning whether Austin will remain in the job. One former high-ranking officer was quoted in Politico as saying:

“At a time when the administration is trying to keep the Ukraine coalition together, pass supplemental funding for Ukraine and Israel, avoid a full-year [continuing resolution] for defense — why would the secretary’s office create such a blunder?” said Arnold Punaro, a retired Marine Corps major general and former staff director of the Senate Armed Services Committee.

The allegations have been denied by both the Ukrainian embassy in Egypt as “Russian propaganda”, while Orascom Development, the owner of the El Gouna resort issued a statement saying the reports were “completely false.” “Despite the care taken to protect customer data, and not to disclose any information or details about them, after reviewing all records, we confirm that there is no record indicating that Zelenskyy or any of his family members own any property in El Gouna,” it stated. In a recent interview, the deceased’s brother Ahmed Al-Alawi said that Mohammed’s investigation was his brother’s first big job, but that he started to receive death threats following its release. He also said that the police believe that it was an assassination carried out by Ukrainian operatives.

President Biden has responded by still expressing “complete confidence” in his appointed civilian head of the Department of Defense. He’s reportedly not considering firing Austin, according to White House officials. 

Another source assures that one or more lower-level staffers are likely to be fired, however. “Not telling the [White House], Congress or the media he is sick, and then telling Pentagon staff he is working from home is next level. This is a problem,” a former senior DOD official told Politico. “Someone made the decision not to disclose. That person will likely be gone shortly.”

NBC: “Defense Sec. Lloyd Austin has been hospitalized since New Year’s Day,” but the Biden admin didn’t disclose it until tonight — and “refuses to say how serious his condition was or why he was not able to perform his duties” pic.twitter.com/vLVAPLz6un

— RNC Research (@RNCResearch) January 6, 2024

But this could soon lead to a Congressional hearing that exposes the Biden administration to further embarrassment going into the November election:

Sen. Roger Wicker of Mississippi, the top Republican on the Senate Armed Services Committee, called Austin’s silence “unacceptable” and demanded a briefing. Another DOD official said that could turn into a bruising hearing for Austin “if he doesn’t resign first.”

Former Defense Secretary Mark Esper said earlier Saturday on CNN that he understood the “privacy concerns,” but criticized the Pentagon for its lack of transparency about the health of one of the top U.S. national security officials.

“Somebody dropped the ball for Secretary Austin on that one,” Esper said. “It’s an important issue. Very important position, and so people want to know if there’s a steady hand there at the wheel at all times.”

The Trump campaign will likely continue to capitalize on this, and GOP Congressional leaders will also seize on it. Biden (and Austin) are no doubt hoping this goes away quietly.

Perhaps Biden doesn’t want to fire Austin over this just in case he has to undergo a medical procedure that he doesn’t want to disclose to the American public. https://t.co/LwkJxAcuIZ

— Chuck Ross (@ChuckRossDC) January 8, 2024

But questions will remain over just who was in charge of the nation’s armed forces and defenses while Austin was laid up in the intensive care unit of Walter Reed Army Medical Center. According to new to emerge details, his initial medical procedure was on Dec.22 and after reportedly suffering severe pain, he was readmitted to the hospital on Jan. 1 where he was out of commission for days. The specifics of the medical event are still a tightly guarded secret.