Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin has been released from the hospital after being taken to an intensive care unit for post-surgical complications.
“I’m grateful for the excellent care I received at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center and want to thank the outstanding doctors and nursing staff for their professionalism and superb support,” Mr. Austin said in a Monday press statement. “I also am thankful and appreciative for all the well wishes I received for a speedy recovery, Now, as I continue to recuperate and perform my duties from home, I’m eager to fully recover and return as quickly as possible to the Pentagon.”
Mr. Austin’s hospitalization sparked controversy after he failed to notify the White House or Congress for several days after he was taken to the ICU.
The defense secretary had recently been diagnosed with prostrate cancer and originally underwent surgery on Dec. 22 to “treat and cure” it, according to the Department of Defense. Mr. Austin was discharged the day after his Dec. 22 surgery but was rehospitalized on Jan. 1 after experiencing severe pain. According to a timeline provided by Pentagon Press Secretary Maj. Gen. Pat Ryder, Mr. Austin’s chief of staff notified the deputy secretary of defense and the White House national security adviser of his hospitalization on the afternoon of Jan. 4. Members of Congress weren’t notified of the situation until the afternoon of Jan. 5.
Dr. John Maddox, a Trauma Medical Director, and Dr. Gregory Chesnut, a director of the Center for Prostate Disease Research at the Murtha Cancer Center, of Walter Reed National Military Medical Center described the defense secretary being in good health in a Monday statement.
“Secretary Austin progressed well throughout his stay and his strength is rebounding. He underwent a series of medical tests and evaluations and received non-surgical care during his stay to address his medical needs, to include resolving some lingering leg pains,” the doctors said. “He was discharged home with planned physical therapy and regular follow up. The Secretary is expected to make a full recovery. Secretary Austin’s prostate cancer was treated early and effectively, and his prognosis is excellent. He has no planned further treatment for his cancer other than regular post-prostatectomy surveillance.”
Austin’s Hospitalization Sparks Controversy, Concern
Mr. Austin’s initial lack of communication with the White House and other members of government about his hospitalization has been a source of controversy in the days since his hospitalization was first revealed.
The Department of Defense initially said Mr. Austin’s Dec. 22 hospital visit had been for an elective procedure, without making any initial acknowledgment of his cancer diagnosis. White House National Security Council spokesman John Kirby indicated President Biden and the White House had not initially known the reason for Mr. Austin’s Dec. 22 procedure, until Jan. 9, when the Department of Defense revealed his prostate cancer diagnosis.
“Nobody at the White House knew that Secretary Austin had prostate cancer until this morning, and the President was informed immediately after we were informed.
Mr. Kirby said President Biden had not been notified on Dec. 22 that his defense secretary was in the hospital under general anesthesia, which is used to induce unconsciousness during a surgery. Mr. Austin had transferred his authority to Deputy Secretary of Defense Kathleen Hicks while he was under anesthesia on Dec. 22, but the White House was not notified at the time about this transfer of authority.
During Mr. Austin’s period of undisclosed hospitalization, U.S. forces have had to contend with Houthi attacks on commercial shipping in the Red Sea, including the detonation of an explosive-laden unmanned surface vessel near commercial ships on Jan. 4. On the day Mr. Austin was hospitalized, Iran also deployed a warship in the Red Sea, raising the risk of a confrontation with U.S. forces operating in the waterway.
On Jan. 4, still hours before the White House national security adviser was notified of Mr. Austin’s hospitalization, the United States carried out a drone strike on an alleged Iran-linked terrorist target in Iraq that the U.S. Department of Defense said was actively involved in planning and carrying out attacks against American personnel. The U.S. strike in Iraq elicited pushback from officials within the Iraqi government, who argued that the strike undermined Iraqi sovereignty and the military cooperation agreement it has with U.S. forces operating in the country.
Calls for Investigation and Removal
After the news first broke of Mr. Austin’s hospitalization, House Armed Services Committee Chair Mike Rogers (R-Ala.) called on the defense secretary to explain his “decision-making process” for not notifying the White House or Congress earlier on.
Several Republican politicians have outright called for Mr. Austin to either resign or be fired following this hospitalization episode.
“This concerning lack of transparency exemplifies a shocking lack of judgment and a significant national security threat,” House GOP Conference Chair Elise Stefanik (R-N.Y.) said last week. “There must be full accountability beginning with the immediate resignation of Secretary Austin and those that lied for him and a Congressional investigation into this dangerous dereliction of duty.”
Former president and 2024 Republican frontrunner Donald Trump said in a post on his Truth social media account on Jan. 7, that Mr. Austin “should have been dismissed long ago” for a variety of reasons, but in particular for his handling of the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan in 2021.
Rep. Matt Rosendale (R-Mont.) is also advancing an effort to impeach Mr. Austin. The Montana Republican has similarly raised criticisms of the defense secretary’s handling of the Afghanistan withdrawal alongside his undisclosed hospitalization.
Democratic politicians have been more hesitant in responding to Mr. Austin’s undisclosed hospitalization. Rep. Adam Smith (D-Wash.), the ranking member on the House Armed Services Committee, has said President Biden should at least consider removing Mr. Austin, but said Republicans may try to politicize and “make hay” out of Mr. Austin’s failure to disclose his hospitalization early on.
Rep. Chris DeLuzio (D-Pa.) is the first Democratic lawmaker to publicly call for Mr. Austin’s resignation.
“I have lost trust in Secretary Lloyd Austin’s leadership of the Defense Department due to the lack of transparency about his recent medical treatment and its impact on the continuity of the chain of command,” Mr. Deluzio said. “I have a solemn duty in Congress to conduct oversight of the Defense Department through my service on the House Armed Services Committee. That duty today requires me to call on Secretary Austin to resign.”
Thus far, President Biden has rebuffed calls to remove his defense secretary and has characterized the hospitalization controversy as a lapse of judgement by Mr. Austin.
The Pentagon inspector general has also begun a review of Mr. Austin’s hospitalization and “assess whether the [Defense Department’s] policies and procedures are sufficient to ensure timely and appropriate notifications and the effective transition of authorities as may be warranted due to health-based or other unavailability of senior leadership.”