The Republican-led House Armed Services Committee called Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin to testify this Thursday for his lack of communication with the White House for failing to report his hospitalization last month. Austin, the second-ranking officer in the country’s military ranks – only behind Joe Biden, the commander in chief – underwent surgery for prostate cancer in December and had to be hospitalized in January due to a resulting complication.
His closest men in the Pentagon did not know his state of health until the next day and Biden was not informed until three days later. By keeping his hospitalization private, Austin skipped transparency protocols and caused a small government crisis, which Republicans are trying to take advantage of politically with this Thursday’s commission.
“How common is it for the president to go three days without speaking to the Secretary of Defense?” asked Congressman Jim Banks, one of his biggest critics in the Lower House. “It can happen,” Austin responded, stating that sometimes there are “days without direct communication,” especially if Biden is traveling. Republicans maintain that this episode sends a signal of weakness to the United States’ adversaries and assure that the health of the 70-year-old Pentagon chief is a matter of national security. “Our enemies should fear us, but what you did shames us,” Banks concluded.
Austin has taken “full responsibility” for his silence. “We didn’t do it right. I, personally, didn’t do it right. And, as you know, I have apologized to the president. I take full responsibility.” However, he has assured that at no time was there a vacuum of authority or command, since his deputy secretary Kathleen Hicks “was in a position to carry out the functions of my position.”
While Austin was away, “wars were raging in Ukraine and Israel, our ships were being bombed in the Red Sea, and our bases were preparing for an attack in Iraq and Syria. But the Commander in Chief didn’t know that his Secretary of Defense was away. combat,” denounced Republican Mike Rogers.
Austin, who has claimed to be “completely cured” of his prostate cancer, has avoided directly answering questions about when his advisors learned of his condition and why none of them alerted the chain of command in time. “Americans, whether they are truck drivers or waiters, know that they have to notify their boss or they will be fired, but you have set a different standard for yourself and that is unacceptable,” denounced Congressman Mike Waltz, joining the call for him to resign. .
“I should have promptly informed the president, my team, Congress and the American people about my cancer diagnosis and subsequent treatment,” Austin reiterated, stating that Biden “has expressed full faith and trust in me.”
Republicans are taking advantage of their majority in the Lower House to question the government in this election year. This month, they approved an impeachment against the Secretary of Homeland Security, Alejandro Mayorkas, for alleged neglect of duties at the border. He was the first member of the administration in more than 150 years, but he has no signs of prospering in the Senate, where there is a Democratic majority.
At the same time, Republicans are trying to initiate a similar process with Biden, arguing that his family took advantage of his name when he was vice president to do business abroad. However, after gathering the president’s bank records and questioning ten witnesses, including his brother James and his son Hunter, they have yet to provide any conclusive criminal evidence that could justify impeachment.
