Gaetz asks Sec. Austin to support backpay for unvaccinated former military members: ‘No’

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Florida Republican Rep. Matt Gaetz grilled U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin over members of the U.S. Armed Forces being removed and losing pay due to their COVID-19 vaccination status.

The military instituted the mandate on Aug. 24, 2021, and Austin rescinded it last January.

Over 8,000 troops were kicked out for not obeying the mandate, and others tried to obtain exemptions.

Gaetz told Austin he and other members of Congress have “empathy” for Austin’s recent health scare, and linked Austin’s own health care experiences to that of the military members who decided the vaccine wasn’t for them.

“Now that you see how personal medical decisions are, will you call for the re-recruitment, restoration of full rank and back-pay for the 8,600 service members who were vax-mandated out of the military?” Gaetz asked Austin.

“No, I won’t,” Austin replied.

Austin recently became absent from his post without notifying the proper chain of command in a timely manner, which the secretary said in Thursday’s hearing that he “admitted” to not handling the situation properly.

“So, then, the question is: what becomes the the clear and swift accountability now? You’re not going to be discharged, right?” Gaetz said. “You’re not going to be suspended, you’re not going to be demoted, and you’re not going to have your pay cut. None of those things are going to happen to you, right?”

“Mr. Secretary, you come to us seeking forgiveness, but you offer none,” he said. “And it seems as though the pattern is repeated. You make a mistake, like on the vax mandate, and here regarding your notification, then you get busted.”

“You’re not meeting your own standards that you set for yourself. And you say that the DoD is a learning organization,” Gaetz said. “Haven’t you learned yet that the military is weaker, not stronger, with the 8,600 people that you’ve asked mandated out of the military?”