Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin’s secretive hospitalization has sparked mounting criticism on Capitol Hill and calls from GOP figures including former President Trump for his resignation.
The 70-year-oldAustin, whoremainshospitalized after a Jan. 1 check-in, has taken responsibility for the failure todisclosehis visitand acknowledged the transparency concerns.Butthe Pentagon still hasnot offered any information about theelective medical procedure that led to his recenthospitalization,or why there wassucha wide gapbetween when Austin wasadmittedand key officials were notified.
Republicans and Democratsalikearenowdemanding answersas towhy President Biden andthe Pentagon’s No. 2 official,Deputy Secretary of Defense Kathleen Hicks,were notinformed of the hospitalization until three days after Austin waschecked in.
Members of Congress, whichwasnot made aware until shortly before the Pentagon released a public statement around5 p.m. Friday, said the failure to notify is alarming, given the U.S. isaidingtwo wars in Ukraine and Gazaand fielding attacks on U.S. troops in the Middle East.
Rep. Mike Gallagher (R-Wis.),chairof the China Select Committee, said “ata time when U.S.troops are actively under attack and some dying in the Middle East, neither the President, National Security Council, nor Congress knew who was—or was not—at the helm of the Pentagon.”
“This is irresponsible and brings into question the basic competence of the Bidenadministration,” Gallagher said in a statement. “The American people have a right to know why thecommander-in-chief was not made aware of thesecretary ofdefense’s incapacitation.”
And Senate Armed Services Committee Chair Jack Reed (D-R.I.), the lone lawmaker Austin has spokenwithpersonally via a Sunday phone call, said heis concerned that vital chain of command and notification procedures were not followed.
“He is taking responsibility for the situation, but this was a serious incident and there needs to be transparency and accountabilityfromthe Department,” Reed said in a statement.
The White House isalso upset about the secrecy of thehospitalization. But it said Mondaythecommander in chiefmaintainsconfidence in Austin andis not consideringfiringhim.
“We’ll take a look at process and procedure here and try to learn from this experience, and if there’s some changes to be made in terms of process and procedure, we’ll do that,” White House national security spokesperson John Kirby said.
Pentagon presssecretaryMaj. Gen. Patrick Ryder said Monday that Austin has no plans to resign, nor do any of his staff.
Butforsome Republicans,that’snot good enough. Several haveslammedAustin’s secrecy as a dereliction of duty and say he must resign or be removed.
Trump said in a social media post that Austin should be “fired immediately for improper professional conduct andderelictionof duty.”
“He has been missing for one week, and nobody, including his boss, CrookedJoe Biden,had a clue as to where he was, or might be,”Trump said.
Rep. Elise Stefanik(R-N.Y.), chair of the House Republican Conference, said Austin’s absence without notification erodes trust in the chain of command during a tense time in the world.
“There must be full accountability beginning with the immediate resignation of Secretary Austin and those that lied for him and acongressional investigation into this dangerous dereliction of duty,” Stefanik said in a statement Monday.
Ryderdefended the Defense Department on Monday,attributing thedelay in notifying key officials toAustin’s chief of staff being out sick with the flu, as well asasparseoffice due to the Christmas and New Year’sholidays.
“We are currently reviewing how we can improve these notification procedures, to includeWhiteHouse and congressional notifications,” Rydertold reporters at the Pentagon.
Richard Kohn, a civil-militaryresearcherand a professor emeritus at the University of North Carolina, said Austin, who values his privacy,likely wantedto keep the situationunder wraps,possibly consideringthe issue trivial.
“We have to assume that while it was a simple mistake not to alert the White House in some fashion; there must have been a reason for it with him that’s very personal,” Kohn said.
But Kohn said the “unusual” decision will have to be explained.
“The anomaly is going to have to be explained, at least to the White House and the President.It’snot going away,” he said. “And elsewhere, the governmentwill take away the lesson that …bad newsdoesn’tget better with age.”
“The biggest lesson in this one is alwayskeepyour boss informed,” he added.
Austin first went to the hospital Dec. 22for an elective medical procedurethe Pentagon hasyet toidentify.Hecheckedout the next day.
Defense officials did notdisclosetheinitialprocedure to the White House, Ryder said.
On Jan. 1,after experiencing“severe pain,”Austinwent back tothe hospitalvia ambulancefrom his house,accompanied by hispersonal security detail. He was checkedintothe intensive care unit,according toRyder, whodescribedAustinas “conscious but in quite a bit of pain” at the time.
Ryder did not say if Austin was at any point unconsciousafter he was admitted to the hospital.
Hicks,who was on vacation in Puerto Ricowhen Austin was admitted, took overcertainduties overseeing the Pentagonthe afternoon ofJan. 2, though she did not learn of his hospitalization untilJan. 4,finding outfrom the secretary’s chief of staff.
Hicks preparedareturn to Washington butcanceled a flight back after she wasinformed that Austin was recovering and wouldsoon be able toresume his full duties, according to the Pentagon.
As of Monday, AustinremainsatWalter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington, D.C.,althoughhe “is recovering well and in good spirits,” Ryder said.
He is no longer in the intensive care unit,insteadrecovering in a moreprivate areaof the hospitalas he “continues to experience discomfort, but his prognosis is good,”he added.
Austinresumed fullduties Friday, the same day the Pentagon sentoutapublicstatement about his conditionand alerted Congress of the hospitalization.
The Pentagon Press Association, agroup thatrepresentsjournalists coveringthe Defense Department, said putting out a statement four days after Austin was first admitted is an “outrage” that “falls far below the normal disclosure standards that are customary by other federal departments when senior officials undergo medical procedures or are temporarily incapacitated.”
“The public has a right to know when U.S.cabinet members are hospitalized, under anesthesia or when duties are delegated as the result of any medical procedure,” the group wrote in a letter Friday. “That has been the practice even up to the president’s level. As the nation’s top defense leader, Secretary Austin has no claim to privacy in this situation.”
Rydersaid hedid not learn of Austin’s hospitalization until the afternoon of Jan. 2.Heapologized for thedelayed statementand saidhe was “personally committed” to ensuringthePentagon would do better in notifying the public.
“I recognize that I should have tried to learn more and to press for an earlier public acknowledgement,” he said, noting he was meeting with the Pentagon Press AssociationlaterMonday.
Still,Congress wants clear answers on what happened, including what medical complications the secretary experienced, andmore disclosure onwhyhefailed toquicklynotify up the chain of command.
TopRepublicans and Democrats on the House Armed Services Committee called for answers on those questions “as soon as possible” in a statement Sunday.
Sen. Roger Wicker (R-Miss.), ranking member on the Senate Armed Services Committee, saidthe failure to notify is “unacceptable” andcalled for a briefing.
Wicker also said the incidentcomes on top of delays in informing the public and Congress about the Chinese spy balloon last year and the2021 U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan.
“We are learning more every hour about thedepartment’s shocking defiance of the law,” Wicker said in a statement. “Worryingly, we now have more questions than answers.”
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