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-old Austin, who remains hospitalized after a Jan. 1 check-in, 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 Austin was checked in.
Members of Congress, which was not made aware until shortly before the Pentagon released a public statement 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.
Rep. Mike Gallagher (R-Wis.), chair of the China Select Committee, said “at a 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 Biden administration,” Gallagher said in a statement. “The American people have a right to know why the commander-in-chief was not made aware of the secretary of defense’s incapacitation.”
And Senate Armed Services Committee Chair Jack Reed (D-R.I.), the lone lawmaker Austin has spoken with personally via a Sunday phone call, said he is 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 accountability from the Department,” Reed said in a statement.
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,” White House national security spokesperson John Kirby said.
Pentagon press secretary Maj. Gen. Patrick Ryder said Monday that Austin has no plans to resign, nor do any of his staff.
But for some Republicans, that’s not good enough. Several have slammed Austin’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 and dereliction of duty.”
“He has been missing for one week, and nobody, including his boss, Crooked Joe 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 a congressional investigation into this dangerous dereliction of duty,” Stefanik said in a statement Monday.
Ryder defended the Defense Department on Monday, attributing the delay in notifying key officials to Austin’s chief of staff being out sick with the flu, as well as a sparse office due to the Christmas and New Year’s holidays.
“We are currently reviewing how we can improve these notification procedures, to include White House and congressional notifications,” Ryder told reporters at the Pentagon.
Richard Kohn, a civil-military researcher and a professor emeritus at the University of North Carolina, said Austin, who values his privacy, likely wanted to keep the situation under wraps, possibly considering the 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’s not going away,” he said. “And elsewhere, the government will take away the lesson that … bad news doesn’t get better with age.”
“The biggest lesson in this one is always keep your boss informed,” he added.
Austin first went to the hospital 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.
Ryder did not say if Austin was at any point unconscious after he was admitted to the hospital.
Hicks, who was on vacation in Puerto Rico when Austin was admitted, took over certain duties overseeing the Pentagon the afternoon of Jan. 2, though she did not learn of his hospitalization until Jan. 4, finding out from the secretary’s chief of staff.
Hicks prepared a return to Washington but canceled a flight back after she was informed that Austin was recovering and would soon be able to resume his full duties, according to the Pentagon.
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.
He is no longer in the intensive care unit, instead recovering in a more private area of the hospital as he “continues to experience discomfort, but his prognosis is good,” he added.
Austin resumed full duties Friday, the same day the Pentagon sent out a public statement about his condition and alerted Congress of the hospitalization.
The Pentagon Press Association, a group that represents journalists covering the 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.”
Ryder said he did not learn of Austin’s hospitalization until the afternoon of Jan. 2. He apologized for the delayed statement and said he was “personally committed” to ensuring the Pentagon 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 Association later Monday.
Still, Congress wants clear answers on what happened, including what medical complications the secretary experienced, and more disclosure on why he failed to quickly notify up the chain of command.
Top Republicans 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, said the failure to notify is “unacceptable” and called for a briefing.
Wicker also said the incident comes on top of delays in informing the public and Congress about the Chinese spy balloon last year and the 2021 U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan.
“We are learning more every hour about the department’s shocking defiance of the law,” Wicker said in a statement. “Worryingly, we now have more questions than answers.”