Sen. Joe Manchin said Sunday he didn’t call for Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin to be fired, even as he said Austin made a mistake in not telling President Joe Biden about his hospitalization.

“You don’t change right now. you don’t throw a person out that has dedicated his entire life and done a good job of giving everything he has to it,” the West Virginia Democrat said on CBS’ “Face the Nation.” “He said he’s made a mistake; he shouldn’t have done it.”

Manchin said the recent U.S. strikes on the Houthis in Yemen indicate that the Pentagon is not rudderless at the moment. “This took coordination,” he said.

Austin has been hospitalized since the start of the year because of an infection that developed after surgery he underwent for prostate cancer, but it took several days before the president was notified.

“There’s definitely been a breakdown. We need to find out more on the facts. We will this week,” Manchin told host Margaret Brennan.

The senator said he remains concerned about Austin’s health, and the nasty criticism of him.

“This toxic atmosphere is what people don’t like anymore. Just have some civility to how we handle ourselves,” Manchin said.