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Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin “undermined” the U.S. “constitutional dedication to civilian management of the navy” and the nation’s “readiness in a time of crisis” when his admission to a hospital intensive care unit (ICU) was hid from the White House.
“Austin’s behavior was reckless, particularly at a time when war has broken out in Europe and the Middle East, China is a major threat in the Pacific, global commerce is being paralyzed by piracy in the Red Sea, and American forces are not only in harm’s way but being attacked by Iranian proxies. By keeping his incapacity a secret from the White House, he undermined our constitutional commitment to civilian control of the military and undermined U.S. readiness in a time of crisis,” Andy McCarthy, a former assistant U.S. lawyer and Fox News contributor, advised Fox News Digital on Monday.
Outrage broke out amongst conservative lawmakers and leaders final week as reviews unfold that Austin was receiving therapy at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center in Bethesda, Md., and that the White House had been unaware for days. This week, calls have mounted that Austin resign or be fired over the matter, with lawmakers additionally demanding solutions on the obvious communication breakdown within the chain of command.
“Worryingly, we now have more questions than answers,” Mississippi Republican Sen. Roger Wicker stated in an announcement final week. “Why was the notification process under 5 U.S.C. 3349 not followed and who made the determination not to follow it? What role did the Secretary of Defense’s staff play? When exactly was the President notified? What justification did the Department have for withholding information from the National Security Council? To what extent was the Secretary incapacitated by his surgery?”
AUSTIN’S MYSTERY HOSPITAL STAY TOTALLY UNPRECEDENTED, COULD EMBOLDEN US ENEMIES: EXPERT
Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin stays hospitalized every week after struggling extreme ache following an elective process, the Pentagon stated Monday. (Ian Waldie/Bloomberg by way of Getty Images)
“The very fact that we have none of this information is an indictment of an administration which consistently holds Congressional authority on national defense matters in contempt,” Wicker added.
Austin, 70, acquired an elective medical process on Dec. 22 at Walter Reed, and days later skilled “severe pain” whereas at dwelling, Pentagon press secretary Maj. Gen. Pat Ryder advised Fox News on Sunday. He was once more transported to the hospital on Jan. 1 to the intensive care unit.
Austin has resumed his duties and transferred out of the ICU, however stays at Walter Reed. It was revealed Tuesday that Austin underwent a prostatectomy late final month after a prostate prognosis, and was admitted to the ICU final week as a consequence of creating a urinary tract an infection following the process.
The media was made conscious on Friday of Austin’s hospital therapy, and reviews rapidly adopted that President Biden, the National Security Council and high Pentagon leaders – together with Austin’s deputy, Kathleen Hicks – had been stored at midnight concerning the hospitalization for days. Ryder advised the media Monday that it took so lengthy to flag the White House and National Security Council of the hospitalization as a result of Austin’s chief of employees had the flu.
McCarthy continued in his remark to Fox News Digital that “Secretary Austin should be fired but he won’t be.”
“The Constitution reposes all executive power in a single official, the president, and makes the president commander in chief of the armed forces. This ensures civilian control of the armed forces: the U.S. military does not have independent constitutional standing – it answers to the chief executive and relies for its existence, operations and armaments on congressional legislation,” McCarthy stated.
The U.S. navy is civilian managed, that means final authority of the navy is within the fingers of the president, not a navy officer.
Air Force Brig. Gen. Pat Ryder, the Pentagon press secretary, talks to reporters on the Pentagon on Oct. 19, 2023, in Arlington, Virginia. (Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images)
“It is President Biden’s duty to direct the executive branch, including the projection of American power, and to preserve and protect our constitutional framework. But whether we are talking about the disastrous withdrawal from Afghanistan, the failure to deter Russia’s aggression, provocations by China, or the ongoing Iran-backed attacks on U.S. forces, Biden has failed to act decisively in furtherance of American national security. Congress should investigate the Austin incident, but there is no reason to believe Biden is going to change,” he added.
The secretary of protection is sixth within the line for the presidential succession, behind different U.S. leaders such because the vp, Speaker of the House and secretary of state.
Fox News Digital additionally spoke to nationwide safety expert Robert Greenway, director of the Heritage Foundation’s Allison Center for National Security, who detailed that Austin’s hospitalization with out the president’s data was unprecedented and that there are clear protocols to comply with within the occasion of a protection secretary’s absence.
The Pentagon is seen from Air Force One on March 2, 2022. (AP Photo/Patrick Semansky, File)
“The secretary of defense has a number of different statutory roles that are unique to his position, not least of which is in the direct military chain of command. That has implications for employment of our nuclear deterrence, but also for just the application of U.S. forces and the deployment of troops, which he alone is authorized on behalf, or at the direction of the president,” Greenway stated Monday morning, “And in a crisis, of course, you know, there isn’t often time. And so every person who exercises the responsibility in the chain of command, has to be present for duty, or has to have someone performing their duties that is authorized to do so,”.
DEFENSE DEPARTMENT TO UNDERGO REVIEW AFTER OVER FAILURES DURING AUSTIN’S HOSPITALIZATION
“There’s a small list of folks that can perform the duties of the secretary of defense in his absence, but there are clear procedures to be followed. It is certainly unclear if any of those steps were taken. In fact, the evidence, as reported to the public, indicates that there may well have been days in which no one was performing the duties of the secretary of defense,” he continued.
President Biden solutions a query throughout a press convention within the East Room on the White House on June 8, 2023. (Drew Angerer/Getty Images)
The Pentagon stated Monday night that the Department of Defense will evaluation the method by which high leaders are notified of the switch of duties from the secretary of protection.
Jennifer Walsh, the director of administration and administration, will lead the evaluation “to identify the relevant facts and circumstances during this period and evaluate the processes and procedures through which the Deputy Secretary of Defense was notified that she should carry out the functions and duties of the Secretary of Defense under 10 U.S.C. § 132(b) and Executive Order 13533,” a Defense Department assertion stated Monday afternoon.
DOD SECOND IN COMMAND TOLD OF AUSTIN’S HOSPITALIZATION 2 DAYS AFTER TAKING OVER SOME OF HIS DUTIES
“The purpose of such review is to better understand the facts surrounding these events and to recommend appropriate processes going forward,” the assertion stated.
Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin speaks throughout a briefing on the Pentagon, March 15, 2023. (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik)
Amid the preliminary chaos, Greenway famous that it was even unclear who approved a navy strike in Baghdad on Jan. 4. He argued that there was “reason to doubt whether or not civilians were exercising control over the military at” the purpose of the strike.
The Pentagon has since stated Austin and the White House had pre-approved the strike in Iraq earlier than the secretary’s hospitalization. The strike, nevertheless, has additional underscored the preliminary confusion of Austin’s hid hospital therapy.
DOD SECOND IN COMMAND TOLD OF AUSTIN’S HOSPITALIZATION 2 DAYS AFTER TAKING OVER SOME OF HIS DUTIES
Greenway argued that U.S. adversaries possible see the quiet hospitalization as a chance to “lash out.”
Chinese President Xi Jinping, Russian President Vladimir Putin and Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei (Per-Anders Pettersson/Getty Images | Contributor/Getty Images | Scott Peterson/Getty Images)
“Putin, Xi, Khamenei in Tehran, Hezbollah, all of our adversaries right now are looking at this with incredulity, as we are. And they’re already judging, I think, that they have an opportunity because of perceived weakness on the U.S.’s part… to lash out. I think this increases the likelihood of mischief internationally, as they see the United States is physically not prepared to take actions and the administration is not ready to do it when it can’t decide who’s in charge,” Greenway stated.
“Not only was this done during a time when we’re threatened across multiple theaters, but you could argue that… the reason that we’re in this is because we got bad policies, personnel and practices. This would reflect that. So I think this isn’t a result of what’s going on in the world. I think this is probably why the world is as it is because it’s not clear who’s in charge,” Greenway added.
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As calls mount that Austin resign or be fired, each the White House and Pentagon say there aren’t any plans to interchange him. A White House official on Monday advised Fox News Digital that President Biden “continues to have full trust and confidence in the secretary.”
Fox News Digital’s Louis Casiano contributed to this report.
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