File photo of Healthy Conscience SecDef Lloyd Austin.
Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, 70, issued a statement Saturday evening about his secret hospitalization, but failed to explain his shocking failure for days to inform Joe Biden, White House staff, Congress or even Pentagon officials that he had been placed in intensive hospitalization. Care unit at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center in Bethesda, Maryland, throughout the week as the United States engaged terrorists in Iraq and the Red Sea.
Biden and the White House were not notified until Thursday, while Congress was notified on Friday. Some Pentagon officials learned about it from news reports Friday night.
In his statement, Austin took full responsibility for keeping his admission to the hospital a secret, but he did not mention the reason for keeping it a secret or what his illness was.
Austin Rep. Kathleen Hicks was reportedly on vacation in Puerto Rico this week and has not returned to Washington. The Pentagon claimed that Hicks was able to run the Pentagon from her vacation spot in the Caribbean.
Austin's statement was an attempt to clean up the news dump Friday night in which the Pentagon announced that Austin had been in the hospital since Monday due to “undescribed complications following a recent elective medical procedure”:
Pentagon Press Secretary Major General Pat Ryder provided the following statement about Secretary of Defense Austin:
On the evening of January 1, Secretary of Defense Lloyd J. Austin III was transferred to Walter Reed National Military Medical Center due to complications following a recent elective medical procedure. He is recovering well and is expected to resume his full duties today. At all times, the Deputy Minister of Defense was prepared to act and exercise the powers of the Minister, if necessary.
Austin's statement was issued Saturday evening:
Statement by Secretary of Defense Lloyd J. Austin III on Medicare
I want to thank the wonderful doctors and nurses at Walter Reed for the exceptional care they provided me and for the personal warmth they showed my family. I also appreciate all the communication and well wishes from colleagues and friends. Charlene and I are so grateful for your support.
I am very happy that I am on the mend and look forward to returning to the Pentagon soon.
I also understand the media's concerns about transparency and recognize that I could have done a better job of ensuring the public was appropriately informed. I commit to doing better.
But it's important to say: This was my own medical procedure, and I take full responsibility for my decisions about disclosure.
National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan was not informed until Thursday that Austin had been hospitalized (excerpt):
Amid tensions in the Middle East, Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin has been hospitalized, including spending four days in the intensive care unit, according to two senior administration officials.
A US official confirms that the Pentagon did not inform senior White House National Security Council officials of Austin's hospitalization until Thursday — three days after he arrived at Walter Reed Medical Center. Politico was the first to report the delay.
A senior Defense Department official said: Deputy Defense Secretary Kathleen Hicks, who was on leave, has assumed her duties.
Hicks was on a previously scheduled vacation when Austin was hospitalized this week, according to a defense official. The official said she was on vacation in Puerto Rico.
The official said she “maintained full contact with Department of Defense personnel at all times.” “She monitored the daily operations of the Department of Defense and conducted some routine work.”
Politico updated its reporting on Saturday adding that no one had told Joe Biden as of Thursday (excerpt):
The Pentagon did not inform President Joe Biden and other senior officials that Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin was hospitalized for three days, three US officials said.
Two other US officials said that National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan and other senior White House aides were not aware that Austin had been hospitalized on January 1 until the Defense Department sent a letter on January 4. Sullivan informed Biden shortly after the Department of Defense was notified on Thursday.
Officials said news of Austin's condition came as a shock to all White House staff because they were unaware that the Pentagon chief was dealing with complications after an elective medical procedure. National Security Council staff were surprised that the Pentagon took so long to inform them of Austin's status. The Pentagon did not announce this information until Friday evening, notifying Congress about 15 minutes before issuing a public statement.
But Austin's hospitalization was a closely guarded secret, kept from even top Pentagon officials and congressional leaders until just before the public statement, according to nine Defense Department officials and two congressional aides. Some Pentagon officials only learned of Austin's position through Rader's press release. A Defense Department official said Austin aides told their office that the secretary had been working from home all week.
TGB reported earlier that the Pentagon Press Association wrote a strongly worded letter complaining about the Pentagon's secrecy regarding Austin.
Military reporters and editors also sent a strongly worded letter. Reporters were most upset that the Pentagon held a news conference on Thursday and failed to disclose that Austin had been hospitalized (excerpts):
The Pentagon had ample opportunity to reveal Secretary Austin's absence, including during a press conference on Thursday. The non-disclosure led to a serious breach of trust at a critical juncture. It is also another worrying sign of a growing lack of transparency. Not publishing information regarding absence for five days until Friday at five in the evening is one of the worst traditions of obfuscation and obfuscation.
There is no excuse for not notifying. Secretary Austin has no privilege of privacy here given the important role he plays. The Pentagon only has to look at how the Marine Corps dealt with the hospitalization of Commander General Eric Smith, to see how these matters should be dealt with.
More from AP (excerpt):
…The Pentagon did not notify the White House National Security Council or its senior adviser Jake Sullivan of Austin's hospitalization at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center in Bethesda, Maryland, as of Thursday, according to two administration officials. The officials were not authorized to speak publicly about the matter and spoke to the AP on condition of anonymity.
The Pentagon's failure to disclose that Austin had been hospitalized for several days reflects a stunning lack of transparency about his illness, how serious it is, and when he might be released. Such secrecy, at a time when the United States is reeling from a myriad of national security crises, runs counter to standard practice with the President and other senior US officials and Cabinet members.
…Reider said members of Congress were notified late Friday afternoon, and other officials said lawmakers were informed after 5 p.m. It was not clear when senior staff at Austin were told, but across the Pentagon, several employees found out when the department released release information about Austin's hospital stay just minutes after 5 p.m. Many believed Austin was on leave for the week.
Deputy Defense Secretary Kathleen Hicks, who took over when Austin was hospitalized, was also absent. A US official said a communications system with her in Puerto Rico allowed her to carry out the mission while Austin, who spent 41 years in the Army and retired as a four-star Army general in 2016, was incapacitated.
Ryder said Saturday that Austin is recovering well and resumed full duties Friday evening from his hospital bed. Asked why the hospital stay was kept secret for so long, Rader said Friday that it was an “evolving situation” and that because of privacy and medical issues, the Pentagon had not made Austin's absence public. Ryder declined to provide any further details about the medical procedure or Austin's health condition.
In some organizations this may amount to a firing offense.
Senator Tom Cotton (R-Arkansas) called for “consequences” in a statement issued shortly before Austin's statement was released:
“Secretary Austin must immediately address the disturbing report that the Department of Defense did not immediately notify President Biden or the National Security Council that he was hospitalized and unable to perform his duties. The Secretary of Defense is the key link in the chain of command between the President and the regular military, “Including the nuclear chain of command, where the most important decisions must be made in minutes. If this report is correct, there must be consequences for this shocking meltdown.”
My statement after reports that @DeptofDefense He failed to disclose that Secretary Austin had been hospitalized: pic.twitter.com/YjL4jSZURI
– Tom Cotton (@SenTomCotton) January 6, 2024
Update: Biden did not answer when asked about Austin as he left a Mass at St. Joseph's at Brandywine Catholic Church in Wilmington, Delaware, on Saturday evening, Bloomberg's Jennifer Jacobs reported:
As he left the church in Greenville, Delaware, Biden did not answer a loud question about Defense Secretary Austin.
– Jennifer Jacobs (@JenniferJJacobs) January 6, 2024
picture:
President Joe Biden leaves St. Joseph's at Brandywine Catholic Church in Wilmington, Delaware, after attending Mass on Saturday, January 6, 2024. Stephanie Scarbrough – Associated Press Staff https://t.co/kQKd0I8hjv via @reflectornews
– Kristin Taylor (@KristinnFR) January 7, 2024
