(Fox News) Media members, Democratic Party leaders and government officials have expressed serious concern in recent days over the Pentagon not alerting the White House and other government organizations that U.S. Department of Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin has been in an ICU bed for several days.
It was announced Tuesday that Austin has prostate cancer and had been hospitalized at Walter Reed Medical Center following treatment.
CNN reporters, DoD officials and lawmakers, including Rep. Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., all weighed in on the delay to alert the rest of the government about Austin’s predicament, noting the situation “could have been handled better,” and that “heads have to roll” over at the Pentagon.
US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin and his team have been criticized after it was reported that the White House and high level Pentagon officials were not made aware of his hospitalization at Walter Reed for multiple days. ((Photo by JUNG YEON-JE / POOL / AFP) (Photo by JUNG YEON-JE/POOL/AFP via Getty Images))
Controversy ensued after the Pentagon publicly revealed last Friday that Austin had been in the hospital since that Monday. A Politico report revealed that the highest levels in the White House and top Pentagon officials were not briefed on the defense secretary’s situation until that Thursday.
That not even President Biden or top military officials heard about Austin’s ordeal for three whole days irked Washington officials and members of the media class.
CNN media reporter Oren Liebermann ripped the Pentagon for the debacle, calling it “unacceptable.” He wrote on X, “The Pentagon waited four days to disclose that Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin was admitted to the hospital on New Year’s Day. That delay is unacceptable, especially given his crucial position in the national security establishment and world events.”
Liebermann then trashed the Biden administration for having a cabinet member that engaged in such behavior. He added, “This is an administration that talked a big game about transparency, and it failed this test. This is a member of the cabinet and the leader of the US military. He was hospitalized at a time with critical global national security issues. And yet the public knew nothing.”
This is an administration that talked a big game about transparency, and it failed this test. This is a member of the cabinet and the leader of the US military.
He was hospitalized at a time with critical global national security issues. And yet the public knew nothing.
— Oren Liebermann (@OrenCNN) January 6, 2024
USA Today reporters Michael Collins and Tom Vanden Brook published an article Monday reporting on how Austin and his handlers’ behavior in this incident “undercuts” Biden’s 2020 presidential campaign promise that he “would bring transparency and trust back to government.”
The report added, “For Biden, the timing of Austin’s secrecy is particularly problematic. Biden entered the White House three years ago promising not only transparency and truth in government but pledging that his administration would avoid the chaos of former President Donald Trump’s administration.”
The Washington Post editorial board expressed issue with Austin’s situation, publishing a column Monday evening that declared the government official “owes the public more answers about his health.”
“We wish Mr. Austin a full and swift recovery regardless of his precise condition. We would also appreciate more information. So far, there has been no plausible explanation for the lack of transparency with which all of the above proceeded in real time,” the board wrote.
