The 70-year-old Austin, who remains hospitalized following a check-in on Jan. 1, has taken responsibility for the failure to disclose his visit and acknowledged the transparency concerns.
But the Pentagon still has not offered any information about the elective medical procedure that led to his recent hospitalization, or why there was such a wide gap between when Austin was admitted and key officials were notified.
Republicans and Democrats alike are now demanding answers as to why President Biden and the Pentagon’s No. 2 official, Deputy Secretary of Defense Kathleen Hicks, were not informed of the hospitalization until three days after he was checked in.
Members of Congress, which was not made aware until shortly before the Pentagon sent a public statement out around 5 p.m. Friday, said the failure to notify is alarming given the U.S. is aiding two wars in Ukraine and Gaza and fielding attacks on U.S. troops in the Middle East.
The White House is also upset about the secrecy of the hospitalization. But it said Monday the commander-in-chief maintains confidence in Austin and is not considering firing him.
“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,” said White House national security spokesperson John Kirby.
Pentagon press secretary Maj. Gen. Pat Ryder said Monday that Austin has no plans to resign, nor do any of his staff.
Ryder on Monday defended the Defense Department, attributing the delay in notifying key officials to Austin’s chief of staff, who was out sick with the flu, as well as a sparse office due to the Christmas and New Year holidays.
Austin first went to the hospital on Dec. 22 for an elective medical procedure the Pentagon has yet to identify. He checked out the next day.
Defense officials did not disclose the initial procedure to the White House, Ryder said.
On Jan. 1, after experiencing “severe pain,” Austin went back to the hospital via ambulance from his house, accompanied by his personal security detail. He was checked into the intensive care unit, according to Ryder, who described Austin as “conscious but in quite a bit of pain” at the time.
As of Monday, Austin remains at Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington, D.C., although he “is recovering well and in good spirits,” Ryder said.
Read the full report at TheHill.com.
