Status: 16.01.2024, 12:02 p.m.
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Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin was hospitalized on Jan. 1. © Matt McClain/The Washington Post
For days, Lloyd Austin kept quiet about his stay in a clinic. Now the US Secretary of Defense wants to slowly start working again.
Bethesda – Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin was fired from Walter Reed National Military Medical Center on Monday (Jan. 15), the Pentagon announced. It ended a two-week hospital stay he had kept secret for days after suffering severe complications during surgery to treat prostate cancer.
Austin, 70, said in a statement that he was grateful for the treatment he received and thanked the medical staff who took care of him, as well as everyone who sent him good wishes.
"Now that I continue to recover and perform my duties from home, I want to make a full recovery and return to the Pentagon as soon as possible," he added. It wasn't immediately clear how long that would be.
Joe Biden didn't know about Lloyd Austin's hospitalization
Austin's doctors, John Maddox and Gregory Chesnut, said in a statement that the head of the Department of Defense continues to recover well and, on medical advice, "will recover and perform his duties remotely for a period of time." The statement said he has "full access to the necessary secure communication facilities" at his home, where he will undergo physical therapy and "regular follow-up visits."
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The situation has aroused a lot of interest, not only because of Austin's position of authority, but also because of the very private way he handled it. He underwent surgery to treat prostate cancer on Dec. 22 without informing President Biden and other senior officials in his administration.
On Jan. 1, Austin was in "severe pain" when he was taken by ambulance from his home in Northern Virginia to Walter Reed Hospital and the intensive care unit, the Pentagon later announced. But the Ministry of Defense hid the medical crisis for days. A handful of officials close to Austin learned of his hospitalization on Jan. 2, but the information was withheld from the White House until Jan. 4 and from Congress and the American public until Jan. 5.
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Pentagon officials struggled to explain the lack of transparency, including to Biden. Maj. Gen. Patrick Ryder, a spokesman, said the White House notification was delayed in part because Kelly Magsamen, Austin's chief of staff, was on sick leave with the flu. However, it's not clear why no one else made the call, even though several other senior Pentagon officials knew about the minister's hospitalization.
"We are fully aware that there will be a lot of questions regarding the notification deadlines," Ryder said last week.
Republicans announce investigation – Austin White House also frustrated
Among those left in the dark was Deputy Secretary of Defense Kathleen Hicks, who took over some of Austin's duties on Dec. 22, when Austin underwent surgery to treat his cancer, and on Jan. 2, when he was returned to Walter Reed with complications. But in both cases, she didn't know he was in the hospital, Pentagon officials said.
Magsamen has ordered a 30-day internal review of the matter. The Defense Department's inspector general has also launched a review, and Ryder said Austin's team will "fully support" them.
Republicans in the House of Representatives have announced that they will also conduct an investigation, opening up the possibility of public hearings in an election year.
White House officials, meanwhile, have ordered a review of the way senior administration officials delegate powers to others when needed.
The White House has stated that Biden continues to have confidence in Austin's work as Secretary of Defense. But they have also acknowledged their frustration with the secrecy.
John Kirby, a spokesman for the National Security Council, said last week that he "cannot answer" why hospitalization was not "widespread" at the Department of Defense.
"It's not good, it's certainly not good," Kirby told reporters. "That's why we want to learn from this. We want to make sure it doesn't happen again."
About the author
Dan Lamothe has worked for The Washington Post since 2014, covering the U.S. military. He has been writing about the armed forces for more than 15 years, has traveled extensively, met five branches of the armed forces and reported on combat missions in Afghanistan.
We are currently testing machine translations. This article has been automatically translated from English into German.
This article was first published in English by the "Washingtonpost.com" on January 15, 2024 - as part of a cooperation, it is now also available in translation to the readers of IPPEN. MEDIA portals.