OPINION:
We now know that late last month, Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin underwent surgery for prostate cancer — a surgery that had complications that incapacitated him to the point he was unable to lead the largest and most powerful armed forces in the world.
That’s not the problem. That’s life.
The problem was that he didn’t tell his boss, the president, the National Security Council, or even key members of his own staff about his illness. The acting secretary of defense was notified by email that the powers of the office had been transferred to her while she was on vacation in Puerto Rico.
There can be only one reason for this dangerous breach of protocol and chain of command: the continued spreading of “Potomac fever” in the beleaguered Biden administration.
Those in the White House say they will review protocols for such a situation. There is nothing to review, and they know it.
On my first day in Washington during the transition period after the 2000 election, former Transportation Secretary Andy Card, who was then the incoming White House chief of staff, spoke to the Bush administration appointees-in-waiting. His message was simple.
First, service wasn’t about “you.” It was about serving the president, the institutions of our government — which are bigger than any one person — and the people of the United States. Second, no one is indispensable. If at some point you forget either of those perspectives, then it’s time for you to leave, he said.
Potomac fever presents as staffers and appointees ignoring those standards and losing touch with their sworn obligations, often for their own selfish purposes.
When you serve as a member of the president’s Cabinet, as a presidential appointee, or White House official, your life is not your own. In those few years that you hold the public’s trust, you work for the people of the United States and serve at the pleasure of the president.
What that means is very simple. It doesn’t require a flow chart, matrix or lengthy rulebook. You don’t get to have surgery without telling anyone.
You are a public figure that serves the public, and there are limits to your own freedom as a result of your larger duty to the nation.
One of the biggest problems with having a president like Joe Biden, who has been lounging at his beach house, hanging out at some donor’s gated estate or napping at Camp David for nearly 40% of his presidency, is that this level of detachment risks infecting the entire culture of the administration. It makes Potomac fever worse.
That Mr. Austin did not understand that his personal life and personal problems take a back seat to his duties is, unfortunately, not an isolated incident in the Biden administration. In 2021, in the middle of a massive supply chain crisis that was affecting inflation and consumer prices, Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, Indiana’s left-wing wunderkind, went on paternity leave.
Cabinet secretaries don’t get paternity leave. Maybe they do to virtue signal to liberal soccer moms. Maybe they do legally. But in reality, when Mr. Buttigieg disappeared from his office for weeks to spend time with his baby and his husband, it was a dereliction of duty.
The Biden White House made every effort to sweep the controversy surrounding Mr. Buttigieg, the second openly gay Cabinet member in history, under the rug.
An old Ronald Reagan quote comes to mind often these days: “Some people go to Washington to be someone, and some go to Washington to do something.” He may have been referring to elected officials, but the concept applies to Cabinet secretaries and appointees as well.
Service as an officer of the federal government is an honor that should be reserved for highly motivated, highly qualified people willing to sacrifice. That sacrifice means lost time with family, significant financial restrictions, long hours, seven-day workweeks, and even placing yourself in physical danger for the sake of the country.
For the party that sees increases in food stamps and welfare checks as a mark of progress, it’s perhaps understandable that a sloppy and self-interested work ethic can reach even the highest levels of government service.
The White House telegraphed its continued support for Mr. Austin, naturally. There’s no way the champions of diversity, equity and inclusion are going to publicly ask for the resignation of the first Black defense secretary.
We wish the secretary the best for a full recovery, but his dangerous decision-making in a time of global conflict showed his irrelevance to the White House and a dereliction of duty, both of which should prompt his retirement from public service.
As for the rest of those in both parties susceptible to Potomac fever, the only cure is having the courage and patriotism to leave service to those truly willing to serve.
• Tom Basile is the host of “America Right Now” on Newsmax and is a columnist for The Washington Times.
Please read our comment policy before commenting.