The first congressional Democrat on Wednesday publicly called for Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin’s resignation, marking a significant escalation in the pressure facing the Pentagon chief following a secretive prostate cancer diagnosis and a lengthy, ongoing hospital stay that was kept secret for days from the White House and Congress.
In a statement, Rep. Chris Deluzio, Pennsylvania Democrat, a former U.S. Navy officer and a member of the House Armed Services Committee, criticized Mr. Austin’s “lack of transparency” regarding his medical treatment.
“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.”
“I thank Secretary Austin for his leadership and years of dedicated service to the American people and wish him a speedy recovery,” Mr. Deluzio said.
Mr. Austin, 70, was rushed to the hospital on Jan. 1 after experiencing abdominal pain after he underwent a Dec. 22 prostatectomy, a surgery to remove all or part of the prostate gland. His attempt to keep the medical procedure quiet, including not notifying his senior Pentagon staff or the White House for several days, sparked a full-blown national security crisis and led calls from lawmakers on Capitol Hill for investigations and even his impeachment from office.
Republicans are furious with Mr. Austin, particularly after revelations that Deputy Secretary of Defense Kathleen Hicks, the effective acting secretary of defense for two days last week, didn’t know that Mr. Austin was in the intensive care unit at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center. On Jan. 2, Ms. Hicks was on vacation in Puerto Rico when she got an email notification that “certain authorities of the secretary of defense” were transferred to her. But, she wasn’t notified about Mr. Austin’s hospitalization until Jan. 4 — two days later.
Even Democrats who want Mr. Austin to remain on the job acknowledge the situation was handled poorly by the defense secretary and his senior aides.
“I remain concerned that the vital chain of command and notification procedures were not followed while the secretary was under medical care,” Sen. Jack Reed, Rhode Island Democrat and chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee chairman, said in a statement earlier this week. “He is taking responsibility for the situation, but this was a serious incident and there needs to be transparency and accountability from the department.”
But now, with at least one Democrat publicly calling for Mr. Austin’s resignation, the defense secretary will face even more pressure to step aside. So far, Mr. Austin has not offered to resign. The White House said this week President Biden still has full confidence in the retired Army general.
Mr. Austin was receiving briefings Wednesday from top aides and is able to monitor the day-to-day operations of the Defense Department from his hospital bed, Pentagon officials said.
• Mike Glenn contributed to this report.
• Ben Wolfgang can be reached at bwolfgang@washingtontimes.com.
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