I have great respect for Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin. He has served the United States honorably and heroically for decades. He earned a Silver Star during the invasion of Iraq in 2003. He commanded American forces during the successful counteroffensive against ISIS. He has done his job admirably, helping shepherd the United States through two of the most dangerous international military crises in decades. Nonetheless, he should resign or, failing that, be fired.
Temporarily dropping out of the chain of command for a medical issue and handing over his responsibilities to his deputy without notifying the commander in chief is so obviously and dramatically improper that it doesn’t take an expert in military matters to explain the problem. Compounding the violation, Austin was not forthcoming about his cancer diagnosis until this week. A division commander would not tolerate a key subordinate simply disappearing for days in the midst of a crisis, even if the commander had high regard for the subordinate.
The issue here is maintaining standards, not passing judgment on Austin. He’s a patriot who made a serious mistake, and serious mistakes should have consequences.
This is especially true now, in an era when partisanship tempts us to reflexively defend our politicians and pervasive corruption and cynicism have made so many Americans scandal weary and indifferent to public integrity. The MAGA movement is worse than indifferent. It now actively scorns integrity, glories in transgression and cares not one whit for competence as long as its politicians defend Donald Trump. It is the Biden administration’s responsibility to model a better way.
Austin’s resignation would be an act of public service, a demonstration of the way in which people of character own their mistakes. Indeed, the integrity of the resignation would wash out the shame of the mistake, and an American patriot would show the nation what honor looks like.