The hospitalization of U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin was concealed from the public far more than was previously believed, authorities said on Sunday. This puts his deputy on a lengthy list of those, including President Joe Biden, who were kept in the dark for days.
After an as-yet-undisclosed elective medical procedure on December 22, Austin, 70, began suffering extreme pain and was taken to the Intensive Care Unit at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center on New Year’s Day.
Austin holds the highest rank in the U.S. military, immediately below Biden, and one of his responsibilities is to be ready to react to any national security emergency at any time.
That includes always being ready to enter secure communications with other officials in the event of an incoming nuclear attack, something that would be difficult to do from an ICU bed.
Deputy Defence Secretary Kathleen Hicks assumed some of his operational duties on Jan. 2, while she was on vacation in Puerto Rico, a U.S. official said. But, Hicks was only told why Austin was unavailable on Jan. 4, three officials told newsmen
That’s the same day that Biden and other senior White House officials were told that Austin had been hospitalized since Jan. 1, five officials said.
At least some circles in the Pentagon were aware of Austin’s situation earlier. The chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Air Force General Charles “CQ” Brown, learned of the hospitalization two days earlier, on Jan. 2, one U.S. official said.
The Pentagon said on Sunday the delay in disclosing his whereabouts was at least partially due to Austin’s chief of staff being off sick.
Austin said in a statement on Saturday that he took “full responsibility” for the secrecy surrounding his hospitalization.
The U.S. Congress was only informed on Friday, shortly before the Pentagon published its public statement.
The Pentagon has yet to say what Austin is being treated for, when he will be discharged from hospital and whether he lost consciousness or was under anesthesia over the past week.
