Questions, furor mount on Pentagon leadership; deputy unaware of Austin illness

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The furor over the undisclosed illness and hospitalization of Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin showed no signs of subsiding Monday as the White House announced plans for a “hot wash” review of the incident and it was revealed that Mr. Austin’s second-in-command wasn’t told initially why she was being put in temporary charge at the Pentagon.

Deputy Secretary of Defense Kathleen Hicks, the effective acting secretary of defense for two days last week, didn’t know that her boss was in intensive care at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center in Maryland after suffering complications from an undisclosed “elective medical procedure” when she temporarily took command of the world’s most formidable fighting force.

The notoriously publicity-shy Mr. Austin, a former Army general, has upset the White House, faced bipartisan criticism on Capitol Hill and sparked a formal protest from the Pentagon’s press corps for failing to reveal his lengthy hospital stay. Mr. Austin said he accepted responsibility for the breakdown, but that did little to quell the controversy.

Aides said President Biden retained faith in his defense secretary, but those were about the only kind words for Mr. Austin in the wake of the perplexing failure to disclose. Former President Donald Trump, the leading Republican contender for the 2024 presidential nomination, weighed in on social media with a call for Mr. Austin to resign “immediately.”

Senate Armed Services Committee Chairman Jack Reed, Rhode Island Democrat, said the lack of disclosure “must never happen again.”

“I remain concerned that the vital chain of command and notification procedures were not followed while the secretary was under medical care,” Mr. Reed said in a statement. “He is taking responsibility for the situation, but this was a serious incident and there needs to be transparency and accountability from the department.”

Details that have been leaked have only exacerbated Mr. Austin’s problems.

On Jan. 2, Ms. Hicks was on vacation in Puerto Rico when she received an email notification that “certain authorities of the Secretary of Defense” were transferred to her. She wasn’t notified about Mr. Austin’s hospitalization until Thursday.

Ms. Hicks wasn’t the only Biden administration official who was out of the loop about Mr. Austin’s health scare. His staff didn’t inform the White House until Thursday. On Monday, the Pentagon was still scrambling to explain what happened.

The White House said the administration will review what rules or procedures were violated to Mr. Austin’s medical problems a secret.

“We’ll do what’s akin to a hot wash,” said John Kirby, National Security Council spokesman. He stressed that the administration would look at the processes in place and “try to learn from this experience.”

Mr. Kirby said Mr. Biden’s Cabinet members have an “expectation” that if one becomes hospitalized, “that will be notified up the chain of command.”

Mr. Biden “respects the fact that Secretary Austin took ownership for the lack of transparency,” Mr. Kirby said.

Intensive care

On Dec. 22, Mr. Austin checked into Walter Reed for an “elective” medical procedure. He was discharged the next day and worked from home during the holidays.

On Jan. 1, he began experiencing severe pain. He was taken back to the hospital and admitted to the intensive care unit.

“He was conscious but in quite a bit of pain,” Air Force Maj. Gen. Patrick S. Ryder, a Pentagon spokesman, told reporters.

The official notifications about Mr. Austin’s health scare were delayed because his chief of staff, Kelly E. Magsamen, was ill and unable to make the calls until Thursday, Gen. Ryder said.

Gen. Charles Q. Brown, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and the senior military officer at the Pentagon, learned about Mr. Austin’s medical complications on Jan. 2, the day after he went into the ICU at Walter Reed. Pentagon officials could not say why he didn’t pass along the information to anyone in the chain of command.

Ms. Hicks planned to cut short her vacation and return to Washington on Friday but was told Mr. Austin was well enough to assume his duties, even though he remained hospitalized. It was the same day the individual service secretaries and other top staffers at the Pentagon were told about Mr. Austin’s medical conditions.

Although the Pentagon has promised more transparency, officials won’t say whether Mr. Austin was put under anesthesia or otherwise lost consciousness during his initial procedure at Walter Reed or his follow-up visit. It is not clear when he will be well enough to leave the hospital and return to his duties at the Defense Department. Mr. Austin has not offered his resignation over the incident, nor did Mr. Biden request it, Pentagon officials said.

“I want to underscore that Secretary Austin has taken responsibility for the issues with transparency,” Gen. Ryder said. The Defense Department “will be taking steps to improve our notification procedures.”

Gen. Ryder said he learned about Mr. Austin’s hospitalization on Jan. 2 from a conversation with Chris Meagher, the assistant secretary of defense for public affairs. He did not tell reporters about it during a press conference Thursday. At the time, he didn’t feel at liberty to release information about Mr. Austin’s health.

“In retrospect, I should have asked those harder questions and I should have pushed for an earlier public acknowledgment,” he said.

On Friday, the Pentagon Press Association sent a letter to Mr. Meagher and Gen. Ryder expressing anger about how information about Mr. Austin’s medical condition was released to the press and the public.

“It falls far below the normal disclosure standards that are customary by other federal departments when senior officials undergo medical procedures or are temporarily incapacitated,” the letter stated. “The public has a right to know when U.S. cabinet members are hospitalized, under anesthesia, or when duties are delegated as the result of any medical procedure.”

As the nation’s top military leader, Mr. Austin has no claim to privacy in this situation, the press association said.

Questions about who was in charge have been raised as the Pentagon tries to support Ukraine in its war with Russia and prevent the fighting between Israel and Hamas from spilling over into a larger regional conflict.

Political fallout

Mr. Austin has tried to keep a low political profile even as he faced criticism from congressional Republicans over the administration’s handling of the Afghanistan withdrawal in 2021 and claims that Pentagon policies are creating a “woke” military at the expense of readiness.

The latest incident has put the Pentagon chief squarely in the political crosshairs with very few allies.

Mr. Trump said on social media that Mr. Austin should be fired “immediately” for not alerting anyone that he was hospitalized last week.

“Failed Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin should be fired immediately for improper professional conduct and dereliction of duty,” Mr. Trump posted on Truth Social on Sunday evening. “He has been missing for one week, and nobody, including his boss … had a clue as to where he was, or might be.”

Republican and Democratic lawmakers have expressed wishes for Mr. Austin’s speedy recovery while questioning how such a key adviser to the president could seemingly disappear from the radar for days.

House Armed Services Committee Chairman Mike Rogers, Alabama Republican, and Rep. Adam Smith of Washington, the panel’s ranking Democrat, issued a joint statement Sunday questioning how the Pentagon handled the incident.

“Transparency is vitally important,” they said. “Sec. Austin must provide these additional details on his health and the decision-making process that occurred in the past week as soon as possible.”

Sen. Tom Cotton, Arkansas Republican, said Mr. Austin and his chief of staff displayed “terrible judgment” about how the information about his medical condition was disclosed. He said one or both of them should resign.

“What’s worse, [Mr. Austin] not telling President Biden he was in the hospital, or that no one at the White House noticed?” Mr. Cotton said on X. “It raises serious questions about President Biden’s competence and leadership.”

Rep. Matt Gaetz, Florida Republican, said it was up to the House Armed Services Committee to hold hearings about the notification debacle if the White House failed to act.

“The secretary of defense serves as the linchpin through which the President commands and controls our armed forces,” Mr. Gaetz said in a statement. “The [Defense Department’s] failure to inform the White House, Congress, and the American people of Secretary Austin’s incapacitation reflects the lack of leadership, competency and transparency throughout the entire Biden administration.”