GOPs Call for Firing Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin over Vaccine Mandate — Dems and Cheney Opposed

Republicans, led by Rep. Mike Johnson (R-LA), on Wednesday called for Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin to be fired if he does not repeal the Biden administration’s coronavirus vaccine mandate for troops.

“My amendment is simple. It would require the Secretary to repeal his COVID vaccine mandate within 30 days. And if he does not comply with that directive, his waiver to serve as Secretary of Defense would automatically be repealed,” Johnson told the House Armed Services Committee during a session to mark up the 2023 National Defense Authorization Act, which authorizes Pentagon spending and activities.

“There’s a lengthy list of things that have gone wrong. Undersecretary Austin’s tenure at the Department of Defense, perhaps not more damaging than the requirement that service members subject themselves to the COVID vaccine,” Johnson added.

Democrats voted down the amendment. They were joined by one Republican — Rep. Liz Cheney (R-WY).

Johnson detailed the detriment the vaccine mandate has caused the military, in terms of retention and recruitment.

He said out of 22,000 applications for a religious exemption to the vaccine, only 58 had been granted, citing numbers from May. Since then, only several dozens more have been granted, and lawmakers have obtained evidence they are only being granted to service members in the process of already leaving the military.

Johnson said that the vaccine mandate was also hurting the Army’s recruitment and retention of troops, with the Army asking to cut 12,000 soldiers from its 2023 fiscal budget:

Why? Because of the vaccine, more than 40% of males aged 18 to 24 have chosen not to become fully vaccinated in the U.S. and as a result, they are ineligible to join the military. So right off the bat 40% of the target demographic for military service is in fact eligible to serve now..

In my area of the country, the southeast region, where DoD recruits approximately 50% of its enlistments, over half of the male population has not gotten the vaccine. It’s not hard to see where all this is headed. The mandate is forcing qualified people out of the force, and it’s preventing qualified people from joining the force.

So far, the Pentagon has discharged more than 5,000 service members who have chosen not to be fully-vaccinated.

https://www.breitbart.com/politics/2022/06/23/gops-call-for-firing-defense-secretary-lloyd-austin-over-vaccine-mandate-dems-and-cheney-opposed/

https://english.almayadeen.net/news/politics/russia:-leaked-former-mi6-head-emails-show-uk-defies-democra

Russia: Leaked former MI6 head emails show UK defies democratic ideals

Russian Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Maria Zakharova considered on Saturday that the recently disclosed plans of the British elites to change power in the United Kingdom contradict the allegedly democratic ideals of the country's government system.

Zakharova's remarks came while commenting on the leaked emails of Richard Dearlove, the former head of the UK intelligence service MI6.

On May 15, independent outlet The Grayzone released a cache of Dearlove's emails, which allegedly disclose plans of the British elites advocating for Brexit to change power in the country over then-UK Prime Minister Theresa May's lack of initiative on the matter.

The elites reportedly intended to undermine May's Brexit deal, which they viewed as weak, by infiltrating the government, spying on campaign groups, and replacing May with Boris Johnson.

"This does not really fit with the touted democratic ideals of the British parliamentary monarchy, to be honest,” Zakharova considered.

According to The Grayzone, the entire operation had been sponsored by Tim and Mary Clode — an aristocratic couple who had settled in a "tax haven" on Jersey Island. The husband and wife have avoided being mentioned on social networks in recent years, the report highlighted.

"Therefore, they fit perfectly the role of 'money bags' and had been allocating money monthly to prepare 'products' [compromising evidence and defamation articles]," the Russian Spokesperson said.

Zakharova criticized Dearlove for accusing Russia of the leak, adding that the UK authorities and elites apparently believe that the British can learn the truth about their own government and democracy only from the Russians.