U.S. Rep. Chris Deluzio 1st Democrat calling for resignation of Defense Secretary Austin

U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin has come under fire recently for failing to disclose a recent hospitalization, and U.S. Rep. Chris Deluzio, D-Aspinwall, is joining the chorus in calling for Austin’s resignation.

Deluzio, a Navy veteran and member of the House Armed Services Committee, is likely the first Democrat in Congress to call for Austin to resign.

“I have 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,” Deluzio said.

Austin, 70, is being treated for prostate cancer. He went to the hospital Dec. 22 for what the Pentagon press secretary called an “elective procedure.” But it was apparently serious enough that Austin temporarily transferred some of his authorities to his deputy, without telling her or other U.S. leaders why.

Deluzio said he wishes Austin a speedy recovery but said it is his duty to perform oversight of the Defense Department. Deluzio is a first-term Democrat who worked as the head of cybersecurity of the University of Pittsburgh before being elected to office.

Several Congressional Republicans, including Sen. J.D. Vance of Ohio and U.S. Rep. Elise Stefanik of New York, already have called for Austin to resign.

Sen. Jack Reed, a Democrat from Rhode Island who chairs the Senate Armed Services Committee, was the only member of Congress who Austin contacted about his hospitalization.

Reed said the hospitalization was a “serious incident” that needs to see accountability from the Pentagon.

President Joe Biden was not informed for four days that Austin had been hospitalized and had turned over power to his deputy. The Biden administration is mounting a policy review in response.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.