U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin speaks to the media after a meeting of the Ukraine Defense Contact Group at Ramstein Air Base in Ramstein-Miesenbach, Germany, April 21, 2023.
Thomas Lohnes | Getty Images
White House officials on Monday reinforced their support for Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, who has come under fire for failing to disclose his emergency hospitalization to administration officials for several days.
National Security Council spokesperson John Kirby said there are no plans other “than for Secretary Austin to stay in the job.”
On Jan. 1, Austin was admitted to the intensive care unit at the Walter Reed National Military Medical Center after complications from an elective surgery he had on Dec. 22. Austin did not communicate his medical status to White House officials for three days, though some staff members said they were looped in on Jan. 2.
Austin’s Chief of Staff Kelly Magsamen was informed that Tuesday but, according to a spokesperson, she had the flu and did not pass along the message to the NSC.
On the afternoon of Jan. 4, Austin informed his deputy secretary and the National Security Council of the ICU stay.
Pentagon officials said Monday that Austin was moved out of the ICU and is in good condition.
The Pentagon announced Monday that it would conduct a review of its notification practices though a spokesperson did not commit to publicizing the findings of that review. The Pentagon’s lawyers are also examining whether any laws were broken when Austin failed to report his medical condition.
U.S. Code 3349 requires any leader of an executive agency to report vacancies in an office as soon as they happen.
Pentagon officials said that “at all times” Austin was ready to exercise the power of his post, though they also reported that he transferred some operational responsibilities to Deputy Secretary of Defense Kathleen Hicks on Jan. 2, as his condition worsened.
Kirby said the White House would also look into shoring up communication protocols.
“If there’s some changes that need to be made in terms of process and procedure, we’ll do that,” he said.
Austin has not publicly confirmed what his initial elective surgery was nor why he delayed telling the White House about his ICU visit, though he took responsibility for the lack of transparency.
“I recognize I could have done a better job ensuring the public was appropriately informed. I commit to doing better,” Austin said in a statement Saturday. Kirby said that President Joe Biden respects Austin’s ownership of the mistake.
But in Austin’s case, keeping his medical status hidden from peers is not just a simple communication blunder — it has national security implications.
Austin’s secret hospitalization came during a week when the U.S. was weighing several notable national security matters, including military action in the Middle East.
On Jan. 4, the Pentagon launched a drone strike in Baghdad that killed an Iran-backed militia leader as part of the U.S. effort to weaken Iranian military arms. The Biden administration also reportedly held meetings to discuss options for a strike against the Iran-backed Houthi rebel group in response to its Red Sea attacks against commercial ships, which have disrupted major shipping routes.
The marked lack of transparency from Austin, who is sixth in the line of succession for the presidency, has alarmed members of Congress, some of whom have called for his resignation.
Democratic and Republican representatives from the House Armed Services Committee issued a joint statement on Sunday demanding more clarity on the undisclosed hospital stay.
“While we wish Sec. Austin a speedy recovery, we are concerned with how the disclosure of the Secretary’s condition was handled,” Reps. Mike Rogers, R-Ala., and Adam Smith, D-Wash., wrote in the statement.
Rep. Elise Stefanik, R-N.Y., issued her own statement calling for Austin to step down and for Congress to launch a formal investigation into the incident.
White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said Monday that Biden maintains “complete confidence” in Austin. A senior administration official said Biden and Austin spoke by phone Saturday evening in what the official called a “warm conversation.”