JUST IN: Biden NOT Considering Firing Defense Sec Austin — Hours After Trump Demanded He Be ‘Fired Immediately’

The White House says President Joe Biden is not considering firing Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin — hours after former President Donald Trump demanded Austin be “fired immediately.”

Secretary Austin is under fire after it was revealed that he did not disclose the fact that he was hospitalized in critical condition. Austin was placed in intensive care on Monday, Jan 1 after “complications following a recent elective medical procedure,” according to the Pentagon.

But neither Deputy Defense Secretary Kathleen Hicks nor President Joe Biden were notified of the hospitalization for days, even as Hicks took on Sec. Austin’s duties.

On Sunday night, Trump posted a rant on his Truth Social platform demanding Austin be fired, and attacking the president as well:

Failed Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin should be fired immediately for improper professional conduct and dereliction of duty. He has been missing for one week, and nobody, including his boss, Crooked Joe Biden, had a clue as to where he was, or might be. He has performed poorly, and should have been dismissed long ago, along with “General” Mark Milley, for many reasons, but in particular the catastrophic surrender in Afghanistan, perhaps the most embarrassing moment in the history of our Country!

On Monday, White House officials told Mediaite that the president has no intention of firing Austin, and that President Biden continues to have full faith in Secretary Austin.

“The President and Secretary Austin spoke this weekend and it was a warm conversation. The President has full confidence in Secretary Austin and he is looking forward to him being back at the Pentagon,” an official told Mediaite.

President Biden is scheduled to deliver a speech at Mother Emanuel AME Church in Charleston, South Carolina on Monday afternoon — which the Biden campaign calls “a venue that embodies the stakes of the 2024 election for the nation in this pivotal moment.”

Reporters will have an opportunity to quiz both Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre and NSC Coordinator for Strategic Communications John Kirby on Monday morning, as the duo will brief reporters aboard Air Force One en route to South Carolina.