Amid throngs of national security conflicts, the Pentagon conceals the hospitalization of Department of National Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin since January 1.
According to the Biden administration, even President Joe was kept in the dark about his illness and was only informed last Thursday, January 4. Deputy Secretary of Defense Kathleen Hicks was only notified at the same time when she began preparing statements informing Congress and Washington. During that time, Hicks was on leave in Puerto Rico.
Hicks was not given any explanation on why there is a temporary transfer of authority.
Austin in a statement last Saturday, took accountability for the lack of transparency:
“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.”
Last Sunday, the Pentagon was obliged to release more details on the prolonged hospitalization of the defense secretary amid backlash.
According to the report, the DoD secretary had a medical procedure last December 22 and went home the next day. However, there was a complication with the operation that required him to be admitted to intensive care by January 1.
However, the Pentagon, once again, did not provide the nature of the medical procedure and what had happened to the Secretary that required medical operation.
Austin remains in intensive care at the Walter Reed Army Medical Center.
In a statement by Senator Roger Wicker, a top Republican official on the Senate Armed Services Committee, said “I am glad to hear Secretary Austin is in improved condition and I wish him a speedy recovery. However, the fact remains that the Department of Defense deliberately withheld the Secretary of Defense’s medical condition for days. That is unacceptable.”
He further said, “When one of the country’s two National Command Authorities is unable to perform their duties, military families, Members of Congress, and the American public deserve to know the full extent of the circumstances.”
The senator demands that the public and the Congress must be “briefed on a full accounting of the facts immediately.”
Rep. Jim Banks (R-Ind) also noted that Austin, “has been a disaster since Day One and should be replaced by 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.”
Sen. Tom Cotton (R-Ark.) demands consequences “if [this] report is true.”
House lawmakers Reps Mike Rogers (R-AL) and Adam Smith (D-WA), Chairman and Ranking Member of the House Armed Services Committee, also slammed the Pentagon’s lack of transparency and said, “Several questions remain unanswered including what the medical procedure and resulting complications were, what the Secretary’s current health status is, how and when the delegation of the Secretary’s responsibilities were made, and the reason for the delay in notification to the President and Congress.”
“Transparency is vitally important. Sec. Austin must provide these additional details on his health and the decision-making process that occurred in the past week as soon as possible.”
Austin’s hospitalization comes as the Ukraine-Russia and Israel-Gaza war intensify.
