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US defence secretary Lloyd Austin has taken the blame for concealing his hospitalisation this week in a breach of protocol that reportedly left US President Joe Biden in the dark about his health.
The Pentagon did not tell Biden and senior national security officials about Austin’s hospitalisation for three days, US media reported on Saturday afternoon.
Within hours, Austin issued a statement saying he understood the “media concerns about transparency”, adding that he “could have done a better job ensuring the public was appropriately informed”.
“I commit to doing better,” Austin added. “This was my medical procedure, and I take full responsibility for my decisions about disclosure.”
The Pentagon said in a statement late Friday that Austin had been admitted to Walter Reed National Military Medical Center “for complications following a recent elective medical procedure” on New Year’s Day, four days earlier.
The Pentagon press secretary said Austin was “recovering well,” adding that the deputy secretary of defence was “prepared to act for and exercise the powers of the secretary, if required”.
Still, the Pentagon’s disclosure raised questions about how and why the defence secretary’s condition had been concealed, especially at a time of two major wars in Gaza and Ukraine.
Roger Wicker, the top Republican on the Senate armed services committee, said it was “unacceptable” that the Pentagon had withheld information about Austin’s condition.
“This episode further erodes trust in the Biden administration, which has repeatedly failed to inform the public in a timely fashion about critical events such as the Chinese spy balloon and the withdrawal from Afghanistan,” he added.
Politico first reported on Saturday that Jake Sullivan, the US national security adviser, and other White House aides did not know about Austin’s New Year’s Day hospitalisation until January 4. Politico reported that Sullivan then informed Biden about the situation.
Austin, 70, is a retired US Army four-star general. He became secretary of defence in January 2021. He had previously been commander of US Central Command, or Centcom.
A spokesperson for the National Security Council did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
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