On Politics

Mon Jan 8 2024

Marina Pitofsky | Associate Editor/Politics

Hello OnPolitics readers. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin is facing mounting criticism after failing to disclose for days that he was hospitalized with a serious medical condition.

Wait, what happened? The Pentagon late Friday announced that Austin had been in the hospital since Jan. 1 related to an elective medical procedure. He was admitted to intensive care, but neither Austin nor other Defense officials have explained what his medical procedure was.

What's the problem? The failure to disclose that Austin had been hospitalized for days was a breach of the norm in which health issues of senior government officials are released with alacrity.

The Defense Department didn't alert the White House until Thursday about Austin's condition, three days after he had been admitted to the hospital. And while Austin transferred authorities to Deputy Defense Secretary Kathleen Hicks on Jan. 2, she wasn't aware that Austin had been hospitalized until Jan. 4.

What will happen next? Some are warning there could be consequences.

"Heads have to roll," said Brett Bruen, a former diplomat and expert in crisis communications who worked in the White House under then-President Barack Obama. "This is not a minor miscommunication. It's about the confidence that our national security structure has in its leadership and that the leadership is acting in a transparent way."