Former President Donald Trump has called for U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd J. Austin to be “fired immediately for improper professional conduct and dereliction of duty.” Austin was admitted to the intensive care unit (ICU) at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center on the first day of 2024, following severe pain from an unexplained elective procedure. For days, Biden and the White House were not informed that Austin had been hospitalized, with even Deputy Secretary of Defense Kathleen Hicks unaware of her superior’s status when she began assuming some of his duties on Jan 2nd.
“[Austin] 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,” Trump wrote on Truth Social.
“He has performed poorly, and should have been dismissed long ago, along with ‘General’ Mark Milley, for many reasons, but in particular the catastrophic surrender in Afghanistan, perhaps the most embarrassing moment in the history of our Country,” he added.
While the public remains in the dark about the nature of Secretary Austin’s condition, Pentagon Press Secretary Major General Pat Ryder now claims he has resumed his professional duties from hospital. Austin is also said to have communicated with President Joe Biden and other senior officials, including Deputy Secretary Hicks and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General CQ Brown, Jr.
No specific discharge date has been provided for Secretary Austin, with Ryder citing privacy reasons for withholding additional information about the exact nature and progress of his condition.
