Republican lawmakers criticized U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin during a Thursday hearing for not informing President Joe Biden and his deputy at the Pentagon about his prostate cancer surgery and hospitalization.
Despite support from Democrats on the House Armed Services Committee, Austin aimed to refute claims that his absence posed a threat to national security or reflected any diminished influence within the Biden administration.
But Republicans questioned how Biden could go for days without knowing Austin was hospitalized.
“I find it very concerning that the secretary could be hospitalized for three days without anyone else in the administration even noticing,” said Representative Mike Rogers, the committee’s chairman.
“That suggests Secretary Austin’s advice is not sought or heeded in the White House, even while military operations were ongoing in the Middle East.”
Instead of disclosing his health situation, Austin chose to keep secret his initial prostate cancer surgery in December, as well as a subsequent January hospitalization for post-surgical complications that led to his admission to the intensive care unit.
Austin has apologized for his handling of the matter, including to President Biden, but his appearance before the committee marked the first opportunity for lawmakers to directly question him.
The hearing was one of the most contentious and personal that Austin, a retired four-star general, has faced in his career.
Representative Jim Banks, a Republican, described the secret hospitalization as an embarrassment and criticized Austin for not holding anyone accountable. He cited Chinese and Russian reports that depicted chaos and mismanagement within the Pentagon.
“What you’ve done has embarrassed us,” Banks said.
The Pentagon released the results of an internal 30-day review on Monday, which essentially cleared itself of any wrongdoing. The review concluded that “nothing examined during this review demonstrated any indication of ill intent or an attempt to obfuscate.”
However, the failure to hold anyone accountable infuriated several lawmakers. Rogers criticized the report for its failure to provide concrete answers regarding who knew what, when, and who neglected their basic duties.
“We were led to believe your 30-day internal review would shed light on the matter,” Rogers said.
“But it includes no explanation of why the president and his staff were left in the dark. It makes no recommendations to improve communication with the White House. And, unsurprisingly, it holds no one accountable.”
At a rare press briefing earlier in February, Austin, known for his privacy, acknowledged his responsibility for not informing Biden and senior staff about his prostate cancer diagnosis beforehand, stating that the health scare was a “gut punch” that deeply affected him.
Following the revelation of the secret hospitalizations, both Republican and Democratic lawmakers criticized Austin for his failure to disclose the cancer diagnosis and subsequent hospitalizations. Some prominent Republicans, including former President Donald Trump, called for Austin’s removal from his post.
“Are you surprised the president didn’t call for your resignation? I’m surprised,” Banks said.
Austin responded:
“The president has expressed full faith and confidence in me.”
