Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin’s unexplained health emergency, and his subsequent and ongoing stay at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center, has embroiled the Pentagon during the early days of 2024.
The defense secretary, 70, has been at Walter Reed for a week, first getting transported to the military hospital via ambulance on Jan. 1, where he was immediately put in the intensive care unit. He is no longer in the ICU but is still in the hospital, Pentagon spokesman Patrick Ryder told reporters on Monday. Ryder said he found out that Austin had been taken out of the ICU earlier Monday, though he could not confirm that he was moved on Monday.
Austin had an undisclosed elective medical procedure on Dec. 22 and returned home the next day. He temporarily transferred some of his authority as secretary of defense to Deputy Secretary of Defense Kathleen Hicks while he was in the hospital for the procedure, Ryder explained.
The exact nature of Austin’s procedure, as well as the complications that sent him to the hospital, remain unknown.
Then, on Jan. 1, the secretary began experiencing “severe pain” and was transported via ambulance to Walter Reed, where he was placed in the ICU. He was conscious when he arrived at the hospital, though Ryder could not say whether Austin lost consciousness at any point during the health scare.
He once again transferred “certain authorities” to Hicks on Jan. 2. Both of their staffs, as well as the Joint Chiefs, were notified that the “transfer had occurred through regular email notification procedures.”
It’s not uncommon for the secretary to transfer authorities to the deputy for any number of reasons, including when Austin travels and has limited communication abilities, Ryder said, which is why, when Austin delegated authorities to Hicks, it did not raise flags within DOD circles. Hicks was on vacation last week when she assumed additional authority.
Hicks and the White House were not notified that Austin had been hospitalized until Jan. 4. Austin’s chief of staff, Kelly Magsamen, was out sick with the flu last week, which Ryder cited as a contributing factor to the delayed notifications to the White House and Congress.
The department is “currently reviewing how we can improve these notification procedures to include White House and congressional notifications,” Ryder added. “Deputy Secretary Hicks made some routine operational and management decisions for the department over this period and was fully authorized and ready to support the president on other military matters, should the need have arisen.”
Hicks and Magsamen began drafting a public statement and congressional notifications last Thursday, Jan. 4, though neither were carried out until the next day. Ryder, in a statement announcing Austin had been hospitalized on Monday, also revealed that Austin was ready to reassume all authorities associated with the secretary position.
Hicks was prepared to leave her vacation and travel back to Washington, D.C., on Jan. 5, but decided against it when informed that Austin was healthy enough to retake his authorities. She had the necessary communications equipment to carry out her new authorities if it had been needed.
The lack of clear and timely information from the Pentagon has spurred widespread and bipartisan condemnation for the lack of transparency, while some lawmakers have publicly called for Biden to fire the secretary.
“While we wish Sec. Austin a speedy recovery, we are concerned with how the disclosure of the Secretary’s condition was handled. 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,” Reps. Mike Rogers (R-AL) and Adam Smith (D-WA), chairman and ranking member of the House Armed Services Committee, respectively, said in a statement.
Despite the sentiment from Capitol Hill, the White House made clear on Monday that Biden still supports Austin.
“The President is not considering replacing Secretary Austin,” a White House official told the Washington Examiner. “The President continues to have full trust and confidence in the Secretary.”
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Austin has not offered his resignation to President Joe Biden, whom he spoke with on Saturday. It remains unknown when he’ll be discharged from the hospital. He’s still experiencing “discomfort but his prognosis is good,” Ryder said.
The number of people within the Pentagon who knew Austin had been hospitalized remained very small prior to the department’s public acknowledgment. Ryder first found out last Tuesday, Jan. 2, and did not mention it to reporters during a briefing on Jan. 4. He apologized to journalists for not finding out more information before briefing reporters that day.
