President Joe Biden had some sharp words for Florida Representative Matt Gaetz, after the Republican tore into US Secretary of Defence, Lloyd Austin, during a hearing in Congress and criticised the US response to the Ukraine crisis.
The president recounted the story a day later, addressing a national union conference on Wednesday.
“[Secretary Austin] basically looked at him and said, ‘What the hell do you think we’ve done? Why do you think they’re able to fight? We’ve trained them and we’ve given them weapons. That’s what’s happening.’”
The Florida Republican hammered Mr Austin during a budget hearing before the House Armed Services Committee, accusing the US military of failing on key strategic assessments in Ukraine, Afghanistan, and elsewhere because they had embraced “woke-ism”.
The Trump ally pressed the top defence leader about why French economist and author Thomas Picketty delivered a lecture at the US National Defence University entitled “Responding to China: The Case For Global Justice and Democratic Socialism”.
“Why should American taxpayers fund lectures at the National Defense University that promote socialism as a strategy to combat China?” he asked.
The Pentagon leader responded that he was unaware of the lecture and didn’t agree with its thesis, but said the NDU was an “academic” institution that hosted a variety of speakers.
The clash continued when Mr Gaetz argued this purported “woke-ism” was linked to a decline in US military capability.
“Mr Secretary, you guys told us that Russia couldn’t lose. You told us that the Taliban couldn’t immediately win. And so I guess I’m wondering what in the $773bn that you’re requesting today is going to help you make assessments that are accurate in the face of so many blown calls,” Mr Gaetz said.
“I’m sorry you are embarrassed by your country,” the retired general responded, before a shouting match ensued.
“Has it not occurred to you that Russia has not overrun Ukraine because of what we’ve done and our allies have done?” Mr Austin added.
