Sen. Roger Wicker (R-Miss.) accused Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin on Monday of providing a list of “non-answers” about his recent secretive hospitalization.
Mr. Austin had been diagnosed with prostate cancer and originally underwent surgery on Dec. 22 to “treat and cure” the disease, according to the Department of Defense. Mr. Austin was discharged the day after his Dec. 22 surgery but was re-hospitalized on Jan. 1 after experiencing severe pain. Mr. Austin’s chief of staff notified Deputy Secretary of Defense Kathleen Hicks and White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan of his hospitalization on the afternoon of Jan. 4.
Members of Congress weren’t notified of the situation until the afternoon of Jan. 5.
Mr. Wicker, the top Republican on the Senate Armed Services Committee, had raised numerous questions with the secretary of defense earlier this month about the previously undisclosed medical episode. The secretary of defense responded before the Jan. 19 deadline he was given, but Mr. Wicker expressed his disappointment with the responses he had received.
“This response is completely unacceptable. It fails to answer specific questions we posed about the Secretary’s decisions and actions,” Mr. Wicker said in a statement. “We have given Secretary Austin and the Department every opportunity to be forthright. Their failure to provide a fully truthful accounting of events is disappointing. Something like this cannot be permitted to happen again.”
Seeking Answers
In his initial set of questions, the Mississippi Republican asked Mr. Austin to specify exactly when he became incapacitated and unable to fulfill his duties as the secretary of defense, as well as who was notified of this situation before the deputy secretary of defense. Mr. Wicker also asked whether any decisions were made on Mr. Austin’s behalf in the time between his incapacitation and the deputy defense secretary being notified, noting in particular that the U.S. military had conducted an airstrike in Iraq on Jan. 4, the same day the Biden administration was informed that Mr. Austin was hospitalized.
Mr. Wicker asked about Ms. Hicks’ role in overseeing the strike and other “affirmative decisions and recommendations” she made as she temporarily carried out his duties.
In his Jan. 18 response letter, Mr. Austin said he transferred his authority as the secretary of defense to Ms. Hicks during his surgery on Dec. 22 and again on Jan. 2, a day after he returned to the hospital. Despite his transfer of authority to Ms. Hicks, the timeline provided by the DOD indicates she was not aware of the reason for this transfer of authority for another two days.
Regarding the Jan. 4 strike in Iraq, Mr. Austin said President Joe Biden had already approved the military action before the transfer of authority to Ms. Hicks. Mr. Austin provided no further specifics about other “affirmative decisions and recommendations” Ms. Hicks made in his absence.
Ms. Hicks had been on vacation in Puerto Rico during Mr. Austin’s hospitalization but he said her staff was notified of this transfer of authority through regular email notifications and she had access to the classified systems she needed to carry out her duties at every stage.
“At no time during either of my hospital stays was there ever a lapse in the command-and-control of the United States Armed Forces,” Mr. Austin stated in his response letter.
Questioning the Timeline
Mr. Wicker’s original set of questions also touched on whether there was a conscious decision not to immediately notify President Biden, Mr. Sullivan, Ms. Hicks, or members of Congress about Mr. Austin’s incapacitation.
Mr. Wicker asked numerous specific questions about when various military and Department of Defense components were notified of the transfer of authority from Mr. Austin to Ms. Hicks.
Mr. Austin’s Jan. 18 letter did not specifically address these questions about whether there was a conscious decision not to notify other members of government about his hospitalization. The defense secretary instead said, “I take full responsibility for my personal decisions related to the disclosure of my cancer diagnosis,” adding that “health matters, particularly potentially serious illnesses such as cancer, are deeply personal, but I recognize that the office I hold requires a greater level of transparency.”
Mr. Austin said he also shares concerns with Mr. Wicker that the Department of Defense “must take steps to improve policies and procedures to ensure timely notification of the President” and said he welcomes an ongoing review of this notification process by the department’s performance improvement officer and director of administration and management.
NTD News reached out to the Department of Defense for further comment on the questions posed by Mr. Wicker but did not receive a response by press time.
It remains to be seen what steps Mr. Wicker may take to get a more thorough response from Mr. Austin regarding the defense secretary’s hospitalization.
