The chorus of people calling for Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin to resign over a secretive hospitalization added a Capitol Hill Democrat to their ranks on Wednesday.

Rep. Chris Deluzio (D-PA), a member of the House Armed Services Committee, joined with Republicans in releasing a statement expressing a lack of confidence in Austin and demanding that he step down.

“I have lost trust in Secretary Lloyd Austin’s leadership of the Defense Department due to the lack of transparency about his recent medical treatment and its impact on the continuity of the chain of command,” Deluzio said in a post to X.

“I have a solemn duty in Congress to conduct oversight of the Defense Department through my service on the House Armed Services Committee. That duty today requires me to call on Secretary Austin to resign,” he added. “I thank Secretary Austin for his leadership and years of dedicated service to the American people and wish him a speedy recovery.”

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Deluzio is an Iraq War veteran, voting rights attorney, and union organizer who first won his Pittsburgh-area district in the 2022 election, according to his congressional biography page. In the 2024 election, the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee identified Deluzio as being one of the party’s most vulnerable incumbents. As of now, the Cook Political Report considers his race competitive, but leaning in the Democrat’s favor.

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