Members of both the House and Senate Armed Services committees have reached out to Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin demanding answers regarding his extended secretive hospital stay.
Austin, 70, has been hospitalized at Walter Reed Medical Center since Jan. 1 after experiencing complications from his prostate cancer treatment, though it took days for the White House, Congress, and the public to be notified of his hospitalization, and even longer to learn what put him in the hospital.
He was brought to the hospital on Jan. 1 and transferred certain authorities to Deputy Secretary of Defense Kathleen Hicks on Jan. 2, which was the same day three senior aides to Austin found out he was in the hospital. But lawmakers, the White House, and Hicks were not informed of his hospitalization until Jan. 4, and it wasn’t until Jan. 9 that the president found out Austin’s cancer diagnosis, even though he spoke with Austin on Jan. 6 as well.
“The apparent failure to even notify your lawful successor in this case is a massive failure of judgment and negligence. It is an intolerable breach of trust with the American people at a dangerous moment for U.S. national security,” Republican members of the Senate Armed Services Committee said in their letter to Austin, which was published on Wednesday.
Ranking member Sen. Roger Wicker (R-MS) led the effort, while Sens. Deb Fischer (R-NE), Tom Cotton (R-AR), Mike Rounds (R-SD), Joni Ernst (R-IA), Dan Sullivan (R-AK), Kevin Cramer (R-ND), Rick Scott (R-FL), Tommy Tuberville (R-AL), Ted Budd (R-NC), Markwayne Mullin (R-OK), and Eric Schmitt (R-MO) were co-signers on the letter.
Similarly, House Armed Services Chairman Mike Rogers (R-AL) opened an inquiry into Austin’s failure to disclose his hospitalization and cancer diagnosis on Tuesday.
“While we wish Sec. Austin a speedy recovery, we are concerned with how the disclosure of the Secretary’s condition was handled,” Rogers and ranking member Adam Smith (D-WA) said in an earlier joint statement. “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.”
CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER
Both the Pentagon and the White House are reviewing the policies surrounding the transfers of authority for Cabinet officials. The Biden White House is undergoing a review of protocols involving Cabinet secretaries, while Austin’s chief of staff, Kelly Magsamen, directed Jennifer Walsh, the director of administration and management, to work with the general counsel to complete a review on the notification process.
Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) told the Washington Examiner, “I think there’s a need for additional factual explanation as to what exactly his medical condition is and why it wasn’t disclosed earlier,” and he added, “Then we probably need to have some fact-finding by the Armed Services Committee and perhaps a hearing.”
