A House Republican is trying to bring forward one or more articles of impeachment against Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin. As announced by Rep. Matt Rosendale’s (R-MT) office on Monday, he plans to introduce the articles of impeachment against the Pentagon chief when the chamber meets on Tuesday.
According to Rosendale, Austin “has violated his oath of office time and time again, and has jeopardized the lives of the American people.”
Condemning the Cabinet official’s failure to disclose his hospitalization for days, Rosendale said his actions “put the American people in danger and compromised our national security.”
For Rosendale, the controversy surrounding Austin’s hospitalization shows that “dishonesty seems to be a repeated pattern” with him.
Citing instances of the Pentagon chief’s dishonesty, the lawmaker brought up the Chinese spy balloon flyover last year, pointing out that Austin lied about it more than once, as revealed by recent reports.
“Furthermore, the Secretary failed to uphold his oath of office during the Biden Administration’s disastrous withdrawal from Afghanistan which led to the death of 13 American soldiers and enabled unvetted migrants to flow into the United States,”he added.
Rosendale’s message is clear – that Austin “is unfit for the Office of the Secretary of Defense.” Hence, he is looking into his impeachment, which he believes will “protect the American people.”
Rosendale’s planned move comes amid the scrutiny Austin has faced in recent days over his lack of disclosure on his hospital stay.
Prominent among the voices in the House is that of Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-NY), who finds it “shocking and absolutely unacceptable that the Department of Defense waited multiple days to notify the President, the National Security Council, and the American people that Defense Secretary Austin was hospitalized and unable to perform his duties.”
“This concerning lack of transparency exemplifies a shocking lack of judgment and a significant national security threat. There must be full accountability beginning with the immediate resignation of Secretary Austin and those that lied for him and a Congressional investigation into this dangerous dereliction of duty,” she added in a post to X.
It is shocking and absolutely unacceptable that the Department of Defense waited multiple days to notify the President, the National Security Council, and the American people that Defense Secretary Austin was hospitalized and unable to perform his duties. In the chain of command,…
— Rep. Elise Stefanik (@RepStefanik) January 8, 2024
For some like former President Donald Trump, nothing short of a termination would suffice in holding Austin accountable for his secretive hospital stay.
In a Truth Social post on Sunday, Trump called for the Biden admin official to be “fired immediately for improper professional conduct and dereliction of duty.”
