Democrat says if he were Biden, he’d fire Defense secretary

Rep. Seth Moulton (D-Mass.) said Friday that if he were President Biden, he would fire Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin over his secretive hospitalization visits and cancer diagnosis.

Moulton, a member of the House Armed Services Committee, said the scandal over Austin’s failure to quickly notify key officials in the Biden administration of his hospitalization is “completely unacceptable.”

“I can’t imagine that happening at the lowest levels of the military chain of command. Like where I was as a mere Lieutenant platoon commander in Iraq, I can’t even imagine it happening,” Moulton said Friday on The Hill on NewsNation. “This is a breakdown in that chain of command. And the commander in chief needs to make a decision here.”

“It’s up to the president as to whether he fires Secretary Austin, but I tell you what, he needs to send a decisive message that this is never gonna happen again,” Moulton added.

When asked what he would do if he were the president, Moulton said it would be an easy decision.

“I would fire him in about five minutes,” Moulton said.

Congressional Democrats have raised questions about Austin’s hospitalization but have largely refrained from calling for him to be removed as the head of the Pentagon.

Several Republicans have called for his resignation, accusing Austin of dereliction of duty for failing to properly notify the White House and Pentagon officials of his absence.

At least one Democrat, Rep. Chris Deluzio (D-Pa.), who represents a swing district and is in a competitive race, called for Austin to resign.

Austin, who has prostate cancer, learned of his cancer diagnosis in early December and had a related surgery Dec. 22. Austin did not inform Biden about the cancer diagnosis or the hospital visit at the time, and the president first learned he had cancer this week.

Austin was also hospitalized in intensive care with a urinary tract infection Jan. 1 and had to delegate his authorities as Pentagon chief to Deputy Secretary of Defense Kathleen Hicks. Biden and Hicks did not learn of his hospitalization until Jan. 4.

Austin resumed his authorities Jan. 5 and was taken out of intensive care. He is recovering from at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center in Maryland.

The secretary has acknowledged the transparency concerns and pledged to do better. Biden said he has confidence in the secretary but noted Friday that Austin had a lapse in judgment for failing to notify him.

Moulton said he feels “terrible for Secretary Austin and his family” and wants the secretary to swiftly recover.

“But what’s most important is that America gets the national security that it needs and their troops get the supervision that they need,” he said. “That’s the secretary’s job.”

NewsNation is owned by Nexstar, which also owns The Hill.