Rep. Chris Deluzio's call for Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin to resign seems timely, says Rep. Matt Rosendale.
Deluzio, of Pennsylvania, on Wednesday called on Austin to resign "due to a lack of transparency," the first Democrat member of Congress to do so.
"It must be an election year," Rosendale told Newsmax's "Chris Salcedo Show."
"Unfortunately, we see a lot of people find religion in an election year, both sides of the aisle," he added.
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."
Austin, who is being treated for prostate cancer, suffered complications that led to him being hospitalized on New Year's Day.
The cancer revelation answers the main question about Austin's hospitalization, which has now lasted eight days. But it may only add to questions of accountability, since President Joe Biden only learned about the cancer diagnosis on Tuesday, even though it was made about a month ago.
"Nobody at the White House knew that Secretary Austin had prostate cancer until this morning," said John Kirby, the National Security Council spokesman. "And the president was informed immediately after."
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Solange Reyner ✉
Solange Reyner is a writer and editor for Newsmax. She has more than 15 years in the journalism industry reporting and covering news, sports and politics.
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