Lloyd Austin: Scrutiny grows on US defence secretary over illness

Criticism of US Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin is growing, after it emerged his deputy was unaware that he was in hospital despite assuming some of his responsibilities.

Kathleen Hicks was not informed until 4 January that Mr Austin was in intensive care, four days after he entered hospital, US media reported.

Mr Austin, 70, resumed his full duties on Friday evening, the Pentagon said.

But questions about the secrecy of his medical situation have drawn scrutiny.

On Sunday, a Pentagon spokesman revealed Mr Austin had undergone an elective medical procedure on 22 December and returned home the next day.

But he began experiencing "severe pain" on the evening of 1 January and was admitted to the Walter Reed National Military Medical Center in Washington DC, Air Force Maj Gen Pat Ryder said.

Mr Ryder added that the defence secretary's medical needs required a stay in the intensive care unit and he "then remained in that location in part due to hospital space considerations and privacy".

Even as he assumes his full duties, Mr Austin is believed to still be at Walter Reed and officials have not disclosed when he will be discharged.

In a statement on Saturday, he said: "I am very glad to be on the mend and look forward to returning to the Pentagon soon.

"I recognize I could have done a better job ensuring the public was appropriately informed. I commit to doing better," he added.

"But this is important to say: this was my medical procedure, and I take full responsibility for my decisions about disclosure."

But the defence secretary sits just below the president in the chain of command for the US military and the Pentagon's failure to disclose Mr Austin's illness has raised concerns about a lack of transparency.

For three days, senior defence officials and even the White House were not aware of Mr Austin's hospital visit.

Officials told CNN that Kathleen Hicks, the Pentagon's second-in-command, began assuming some of her boss's responsibilities last Monday but was in the dark about her boss's whereabouts until Thursday.

Mr Ryder, the spokesman, has said that Mr Austin's chief of staff Kelly Magsamen was ill and "unable to make notifications before then".

"She made those notifications on Thursday to the deputy secretary and national security adviser," he said.

He told CNN that the chairman of the joint chiefs of staff had been notified on Tuesday. Gen CQ Brown, however, is a subordinate advisor who does not fall in the chain of command.

Military service secretaries who sit in the chain of command were not notified until Friday, Mr Ryder conceded.

Members of Congress from both parties have expressed alarm, with some figures - including former president Donald Trump - calling for Mr Austin to be fired.

"Even apparently the National Security Council didn't know it, the White House didn't know it, Congress didn't know it," Republican Senator James Lankford told Fox News on Sunday.

"We're at a time of a lot of turmoil internationally and suddenly had a secretary of defence, more than just a matter of wasn't there, actually sent over false information saying 'I'm working from home' when he's not actually available at all."

Democratic Congressman Adam Smith, the ranking member of the House armed services committee, wrote in a joint statement with a Republican colleagues that Mr Austin must provide "additional details on his health and the decision-making process that occurred in the past week as soon as possible".

Members of the administration have so far stood behind Mr Austin.

President Joe Biden, who spoke with him on Saturday, maintains "full confidence" in Mr Austin, the White House said.