Republicans, White House want answers from Pentagon about Austin’s hospitalization

(WASHINGTON) — Congressional Republicans are calling on top Defense Department officials to provide answers about who knew what and when about Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin’s secret hospitalization for complications resulting from a prostate cancer treatment. This comes as the White House makes clear that despite making an “overt and genuine” effort to learn more about Austin’s condition, President Joe Biden did not find out about his cancer diagnosis until Tuesday.

“We are deeply troubled by the apparent breakdown in communications between your office and the rest of the Department of Defense, the White House, and Congress over the past two weeks,” Sen. Roger Wicker, the ranking Republican in the Senate Armed Services Committee, wrote in a letter to Austin sent Wednesday.

“Further, the apparent failure to even notify your lawful successor in this case is a massive failure of judgment and negligence,” Wicker wrote in a letter signed by all the Republicans on the committee.

“It is an intolerable breach of trust with the American people at a dangerous moment for U.S. national security,” wrote Wicker.

Wicker labeled Austin’s initial public statement last week as “wholly insufficient.” Wicker requested that Pentagon officials who were involved in the notification process respond to his committee by Jan. 19 and answer questions related to the timing and notifications of Austin’s hospitalization and who made the decisions not to notify the White House and other senior Pentagon leaders.

The White House and President Joe Biden did not learn until Tuesday that Austin had prostate cancer and that complications from a surgical procedure to treat it had resulted in his ongoing hospitalization at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center, National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said Tuesday.

Kirby told ABC News Senior White House Correspondent Selina Wang on Wednesday that Austin is a “key member of this administration, so we were all very curious as to what put him in the hospital.”

When asked what explanation the White House received from the Pentagon, Kirby simply reiterated that they didn’t get the information.

“There was no lack of curiosity on our part,” Kirby said.

On Tuesday, House Armed Services Committee Chairman Rep. Mike Rogers, R-Ala., announced that he was also requesting answers from the Defense Department about the lack of transparency about Austin’s hospitalization.

Rogers wrote three letters to Austin, Deputy Defense Secretary Kathleen Hicks and Austin’s chief of staff Kelly Magsamen requesting information regarding the events surrounding Austin’s hospitalization.

“It is unacceptable that neither the Department of Defense (‘Department’), the White House, nor the Congress were accurately informed of your position or capacity,” Rogers wrote in the letters. “With wars in Ukraine and Israel, the idea that the White House and even your own Deputy did not understand the nature of your condition is patently unacceptable.”

The Pentagon has launched a 30-day review of the circumstances behind the delayed notifications of Austin’s hospitalization and has put in place immediate changes to ensure that top Pentagon and White House leaders are notified promptly whenever the defense secretary’s authorities are transferred to the deputy secretary.

The White House has also ordered an administration-wide review of current policies for similar notifications at other federal agencies.