White House stands by Defense Secretary Austin as bipartisan furor grows over secret ICU stay
Austin was in the intensive care unit at a Washington area hospital, the result of complications after an elective surgery. He kept White House officials in the dark about his condition for three days.
Members of Congress expressed alarm at the lack of transparency and demanded answers from the Pentagon, which has so far produced very few details about Austin’s health.
White House officials on Monday reiterated the president’s support for Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, who said he did not intend to resign in the face of sharp bipartisan criticism for failing to disclose his emergency hospitalization to administration officials or Congress for several days.
National Security Council spokesperson John Kirby said there are no plans other “than for Secretary Austin to stay in the job.”
On Jan. 1, Austin was admitted to the intensive care unit after complications from a Dec. 22 elective surgery. Austin did not communicate his medical status to White House officials for three days.
Congressional leaders have questioned Austin’s lack of transparency. Some Republicans have called on Austin to step down and for Congress to launch a formal investigation into the incident.
The White House continued to downplay the situation, framing it as a protocol error, and not as a more serious failure in the chain of command.
The Pentagon said Austin’s Chief of Staff Kelly Magsamen was informed of Austin’s hospitalization on Jan. 2, but she had the flu and did not pass along the message to the National Security Council.
On the afternoon of Jan. 4, Austin informed his deputy secretary and the NSC of the ICU admission.
Austin has not revealed what his initial elective surgery was for, nor why he delayed telling the White House about his ICU admission, although he took responsibility for the highly unusual secrecy.
“I recognize I could have done a better job ensuring the public was appropriately informed. I commit to doing better,” Austin said in a statement.
But for the secretary of defense, keeping his medical status hidden is not just a simple communication blunder — it has major national security implications.
Austin’s secret hospitalization came during a week when the U.S. was weighing several notable national security matters, including military action in the Middle East.
The marked lack of transparency from Austin, who is sixth in the line of succession for the presidency, has alarmed members of Congress.
The top Democrat and Republican on the House Armed Services Committee issued a joint statement on Sunday demanding more clarity on the undisclosed hospital stay.
On Monday, Senate Armed Services Committee chairman Sen. Jack Reed said “this was a serious incident and there needs to be transparency and accountability from the Department.”
White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said Monday that Biden maintains “complete confidence” in Austin. A senior administration official said Biden and Austin spoke by phone Saturday evening in what the official called a “warm conversation.”