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Trump calls for removal of Pentagon chief Lloyd Austin, Biden has no plans to fire him
- ‘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,’ Trump said
- Austin kept hospitalisation from Biden and public for days. National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said there were no plans to fire Austin
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US President Joe Biden is not considering firing Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin over his failure to disclose a hospitalisation for days, the White House said on Monday, as prominent Republicans called for the Pentagon chief to be removed.
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Austin, who sits just below Biden at the top of the chain of command of the US military, withheld his multi-day hospitalisation, which started on New Year’s Day, from the president and the public for several days.
“There is no plan for anything other than for Secretary Austin to stay in the job,” John Kirby, the National Security Council spokesman, told reporters.
Former US president Donald Trump, who is Biden’s likely Republican challenger in the 2024 election, said on Sunday night that Austin should be fired for his “improper professional conduct and dereliction of duty”.
“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,” Trump wrote on Truth Social.
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Another prominent Republican in Congress also called for Austin’s resignation on Monday.
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