US officials, Reps mainly, enraged by Austin's hospitalization secrecy
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Senior White House officials are grappling with who knew what and when about Lloyd Austin's medical emergency.
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Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin arrives at the Pentagon on January 22, 2021, in Washington. (AP)
Republicans in Congress responded angrily to revelations that the Pentagon waited several days to notify top officials about Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin's illness. Some Republican senators have already demanded that Austin testify or be ousted due to what one has described as a "serious breakdown" in communication.
Senior Defense Department and White House officials are still unaware of the procedure's specifics, and there has also been no explanation for the decision to keep information about Austin's medical emergency from the public, including the President.
Austin issued a statement on Saturday in response to a POLITICO article about the three-day gap between his hospitalization and the White House knowing about it.
Austin issues statement: “I recognize I could have done a better job ensuring the public was appropriately informed. I commit to doing better. But this is important to say: this was my medical procedure, and I take full responsibility for my decisions about disclosure.”
— luis martinez (@LMartinezABC) January 6, 2024
A former DOD official called the concealment a "next-level problem," adding that "someone made the decision not to disclose. That person will likely be gone shortly.”
Austin was admitted to Walter Reed National Military Medical Center on the evening of January 1 "for complications following a recent elective medical procedure," Pentagon Press Secretary Major General Pat Ryder said in a statement, without providing details on the complications or the duration of the hospital stay.
For several days, both Congress members and leaders within the Pentagon were unaware that Austin had been hospitalized since Monday, the Associated Press reported, citing US officials. This lack of knowledge prompted queries about the Pentagon chief's condition and the confidentiality surrounding it.
According to several US officials, several high-ranking Pentagon officials reportedly only became aware of Austin's hospitalization on Friday. The officials mentioned that US President Joe Biden and key White House personnel were briefed earlier, though the exact timing wasn't revealed.
Rep. Jim Banks (R-Ind.), a member of the House Armed Services Committee, told Axios that the situation was "very concerning. Sounds like the President didn't even know about it."
Banks called Austin a "disaster since Day One" and called for his replacement to be "someone who will focus on making the military ready to fight and win wars instead of advancing woke political causes of the Biden admin. Enough is enough."
Senate Armed Services Committee ranking member Roger Wicker (R-Miss.) stated, "We are learning more every hour about the Department's shocking defiance of the law," calling it a further corrosion of the trust of the current administration.
Sen. Tom Cotton (R-Ark.), a member of the Armed Services Committee, expressed that "if this report is true, there must be consequences for this shocking breakdown."
Other Senators called for Austin to immediately explain what happened and "who helped keep it from our nation's leaders."
