The 911 phone call placed by an employee of Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin when he was taken to the hospital for surgery complications revealed that they wanted to keep things quiet.
“Can I ask that the ambulance not show up with lights and sirens? We’re trying to remain a little subtle,” the employee said in the call obtained by ABC News.
Mr. Lloyd was taken Jan. 1 from his Virginia home to Walter Reed National Military Medical Center for complications from surgery to treat prostate cancer. The call was made at 7:15 p.m., and the ambulance arrived seven minutes later.
He was released from the hospital on Monday after staying two weeks. In a statement announcing his release, the Department of Defense said Mr. Lloyd “continues to recover well and, on the advice of doctors, will recuperate and perform his duties remotely for a period of time before returning full-time to the Pentagon.”
“He has full access to required secure communications capabilities,” the statement said.
The choice to keep his hospital stay quiet garnered him criticism after reports revealed that not even President Biden knew of the secretary’s hospital visit.
In a statement released while he was in the hospital, Mr. Lloyd said he was happy to be “on the mend [and] returning to the Pentagon soon.”
But he also admitted that he could’ve been more transparent about his situation.
“I recognize I could have done a better job ensuring the public was appropriately informed. I commit to doing better,” he said. “But this is important to say: this was my medical procedure, and I take full responsibility for my decisions about disclosure.”
Sen. Tom Cotton, a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, said Mr. Austin should “address promptly” why he didn’t immediately tell Mr. Biden or the National Security Council of his hospitalization.
“The secretary of defense is the key link in the chain of command between the president and the uniformed military, including the nuclear chain of command, when the weightiest of decisions must be made in minutes,” the Arkansas Republican said. “If this report is true, there must be consequences for this shocking breakdown.”
Reps. Mike Rogers, Alabama Republican, and Adam Smith, Washington Democrat, the chairman and the ranking member of the House Armed Services Committee wrote in a joint statement that they’re “concerned with how the disclosure” of his condition was handled.
“Transparency is vitally important. Secretary Austin must provide these additional details on his health and the decision-making process that occurred in the past week as soon as possible,” they said.
• Mallory Wilson can be reached at mwilson@washingtontimes.com.
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