Video: Prime Minister meets with US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin/GPO
The Pentagon hid Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin's hospitalization for days until it announced over the weekend that he was back in charge while recovering in bed. The confidentiality of the hospitalization of the secretary of defense, who underwent a small complicated medical procedure, has drawn much criticism of the Pentagon's lack of transparency, especially in light of rising tensions in the Middle East.
It remains unclear when the White House and other senior administration officials were briefed on Austin's stay at Walter Reed National Military Hospital in Maryland. In addition, the Pentagon did not provide details about his medical condition, its severity or when he would be discharged from the hospital.
Pentagon spokesman Patrick Reeder said the White House and Joint Chiefs of Staff had been briefed on Austin's hospitalization, but did not say when that happened. Several administration officials said Thursday that most Pentagon officials were unaware of the defense secretary's hospitalization until Friday and believed he was on vacation.
The officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said President Joe Biden and other White House officials were briefed on Austin's 70-year-old stay in the hospital but did not say when. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss the private conversations.
Austin's deputy, Caitlin Hicks, who replaced him while he was in the hospital, was also not in Washington, D.C., but in Puerto Rico. She was equipped with communications equipment that allowed her to replace the defense minister, who served 41 years in the army and retired in 2016 with the rank of four-star general, when he was unable to fulfill his duties.
U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin at a press conference at the Kirya in Tel Aviv, Dec. 18, 2023/Reuters
A Pentagon spokesman said Austin was recovering and returned to full duty Friday evening while still in the hospital. Asked yesterday why his hospitalization had been kept secret for so long, he said it was a "rolling incident" that had not been reported to the public for private and medical reasons. He declined to provide further details about the medical procedure or the defense secretary's condition.
The White House declined to say when or how it was informed of Austin's hospitalization, and referred questions to the Pentagon. The Pentagon Correspondents' Association sent a letter of protest to the spokesman and Chris Meher, deputy secretary of defense for public relations.
"The fact that he was at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center for four days, and that the Pentagon only updates the public on Friday evening, is outrageous," the letter said. "At a time when there are increasing threats to U.S. troops in the Middle East and the United States has a central security role in the wars in Israel and Ukraine, it is especially critical that the American public is informed about the medical condition and decision-making ability of its most senior security leader."
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