Democrat Representative Moulton: Would Remove Austin from Position if He Were President Biden

Rep. Seth Moulton, D-Mass., says he would fire Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin if he were President Joe Biden.

“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 told 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.

Biden on Friday said Austin, who has been hospitalized since Jan. 1 for complications that began after he underwent a procedure for prostate cancer on Dec. 22, should have told him about the illness that led to his hospitalization, but that he has still has confidence in the Pentagon chief.

Moulton isn’t the first Democrat to call for Austin’s ouster.

Rep. Chris Deluzio. D-Pa., on Wednesday called on Austin to resign “due to a lack of transparency.”

Deluzio in a statement said he had “lost trust in Secretary Lloyd Austin’s leadership of the Defense Department due to the lack of transparency about his recent medical treatment and its impact on the continuity of the chain of command.”

“I have a solemn duty in Congress to conduct oversight of the Defense Department through my service on the House Armed Services Committee. That duty today requires me to call on Secretary Austin to resign,” Deluzio added. “I thank Secretary Austin for his leadership and years of dedicated service to the American people and wish him a speedy recovery.”

For days, few knew Austin was in the hospital or in intensive care — the White House learned on Jan. 4 that he was at Walter Reed.