House Armed Services Committee Republicans Launch Formal Inquiry into Defense Secretary

The big news over the last week or so was the disappearance of Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin.

Austin had surgery for prostate cancer on December 22, and he never even made Biden aware that he was being treated for the condition.

Austin then had complications from the surgery on January 1, and he was admitted to Walter Reed, again without telling the White House. Sadly, that is not even the worst of it.

No Communication

During the initial surgery and after Austin was readmitted, he turned some of the powers of his office over to his deputy, again without telling the White House.

This is bad enough during a time of peace, but we are neck-deep in two wars and have rising tensions with Iran.

It is estimated that if a nuclear strike were to take place, we would have about 15 minutes to make a decision, and the sitting president of the United States had no idea why his Secretary of Defense was off the grid.

The Pentagon tried to explain this away as Austin’s chief of staff having the flu, so communications were not sent out, as if this was the only person in the Pentagon that could send out that email.

Now, GOP House members of the Arms Services Committee are demanding answers.

They have penned a letter to Austin, stating, in part, “With conflicts around the world, it is preposterous that you and others in the Department allowed this to occur. This level of confusion surrounding not only your whereabouts, but your capacity to lead the Department has shaken what little confidence existed in any previous commitment to transparency.”

The letter added, “You failed to ensure a smooth transition from your day-to-day management and leadership of the Department by failing to initiate an obvious and immediate transfer of authority to your deputy and disclosure to relevant officials.”

Chairman Mike Rogers (R-AL) officially launched an inquiry into the matter on Tuesday, demanding a response by Austin to clarify matters.

He also wrote Austin’s Deputy, “It is disconcerting that you were acting in his capacity as Secretary of Defense without fully understanding his condition.”

That was in response to reports that Austin has transferred his power to Hicks without revealing the fact he was being operated on for cancer.

The only response from Biden’s office was that they still have full faith in Austin to carry out his duties, which is just ludicrous.

If Austin does not resign or Biden does not force him to resign, he must be impeached for putting the national security of this nation at risk.