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A group of twelve Republican senators, led by Senate Armed Services Committee Chairman Roger Wicker, has called on President Biden to take action against Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin following a damaging Department of Defense inspector general report. The investigation revealed Austin violated federal law by concealing multiple hospitalizations from the White House and disrupting the chain of command.
The report exposed that Austin breached the Federal Vacancies Reform Act on four separate occasions, including two previously undisclosed incidents in June 2024, alongside the known December 2023 and January 2024 episodes.
In their letter to Biden, the senators emphasized the gravity of Austin’s actions, noting that during his absences, neither Congress nor the administration was aware of his inability to perform his duties or Deputy Secretary Hicks’s assumption of his role.
JUST IN: @SenatorWicker and 11 Republican senators are demanding accountability for Lloyd Austin
An IG report found he failed to follow the law when he hid multiple hospitalizations from the White House, putting the nation in danger
"No one had control of the nuclear football" pic.twitter.com/ozmpK7ajJ1
— Breitbart News (@BreitbartNews) January 17, 2025
“For days in December, January, and June, no one in Congress or in your administration knew that Secretary Austin was unable to perform the functions and duties of the Secretary, or that Deputy Secretary Hicks was the acting Secretary…” the senators wrote.
“At the time of these absences, your administration was still reeling from a Chinese intelligence and reconnaissance balloon sailing across the United States, Putin continued his violent and illegal war on Ukraine all the while rattling the nuclear saber, and violent Islamic terrorists and other Iran-backed extremists were ramping up for an historic assault on Israel, emboldened by your disastrous abandonment of Afghanistan.”
The senators expressed particular concern about the nuclear command structure during Austin’s absences, stating, “The world was far from stable, and America was not safe. What makes this situation so much worse, however, is that the moment Secretary Austin’s office became vacant, no one had control of the nuclear football and the entire American nuclear enterprise was left idling.”
Inspector General Robert P. Storch addressed the severity of the situation in his statement: “The ability for the DoD and the government to operate seamlessly and the continuity of leadership under any and all circumstances are fundamental to our national security. Although we found no adverse consequences to DoD operations arising from how the hospitalizations we reviewed were handled, the risks to our national defense, including the command and control of the DoD’s critical national security operations, were increased unnecessarily.”
Folks… they didn't want this reported but I feel duty bound!!☝️🏼
To make sure y'all know the truth!!!
Lloyd Austn's hospital stay is NOT what they have been telling you😔
It's worse… much… MUCH WORSE!!
In a statement it was noted that Richard Gear called Austin to… pic.twitter.com/k7t7i0ZKYb
— SaltyGoat (@SaltyGoat17) January 10, 2024
The investigation revealed multiple instances where Austin failed to properly transfer authority or inform key officials about his medical procedures. The report detailed that during his January hospitalization, Austin underwent three additional procedures while moderately sedated, despite receiving medical advice about potential impairment.
Further details emerged about a February 11 hospitalization due to severe complications, where proper authority transfer was delayed despite Austin’s condition. The report also confirmed that Austin requested an ambulance without lights and sirens during one of his medical emergencies.
The senators concluded their letter by urging immediate action in Biden’s final week, demanding accountability for what they described as Austin’s betrayal of his office and the American people’s trust. The letter garnered support from prominent Republican senators including Deb Fischer, Tom Cotton, Mike Rounds, and several others from the committee.