The White House has rejected calls for Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin to resign. “The president has and will continue to have complete confidence in Defense Secretary Austin,” press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said today. “The most important thing is that he gets better and returns to the Pentagon.”
Opposition Republicans called for Austin to resign or fire following media reports that Biden and the White House were unaware for several days that Austin had been hospitalized last week for an unspecified illness.
The Pentagon announced Friday night that Austin had been hospitalized four days earlier, on Jan. 1, “due to complications following a recent medical procedure.” “I admit that I could have informed the public better,” the 70-year-old said on Saturday. “I’m committed to doing better.”