© Reuters. FILE PHOTO: US Secretary of Protection Lloyd Austin attends a welcome ceremony earlier than an annual safety assembly with South Korean Defence Minister Shin Gained-sik on the Defence Ministry in Seoul, South Korea on November 13, 2023. JUNG YEON-JE/Pool by way of REUTERS
By Hannah Lang
WASHINGTON (Reuters) -The quantity two on the U.S. Protection Division was not knowledgeable that Protection Secretary Lloyd Austin had been hospitalized when she assumed a few of his duties on Jan. 2, in accordance with a report from CNN.
Deputy Secretary of Protection Kathleen Hicks was not notified till two days later that Austin had been admitted on New Yr’s Day to Walter Reed Nationwide Army Medical Heart, CNN reported on Sunday citing two unidentified protection officers.
Reuters reported on Saturday that President Joe Biden was solely knowledgeable of the hospitalization on Thursday night, in accordance with a U.S. official, talking on situation of anonymity. Nonetheless, Biden maintained confidence in Austin and the 2 spoke on Saturday night, a second U.S. official stated.
Austin sits just under Biden on the high of the chain of command of the U.S. army and his duties require his being accessible at a second’s discover to answer any method of nationwide safety disaster.
Austin, who’s 70, stated in an announcement on Saturday that he took “full responsibility” for the secrecy surrounding an ongoing, week-long hospitalization for a nonetheless unspecified medical situation.
A spokesperson for the Pentagon stated Austin stays within the hospital and is “recovering well,” noting that he resumed his full duties on Friday night.
Politico reported that Basic Charles Q. Brown, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Employees, didn’t be taught of Austin’s hospitalization till Tuesday.
The Pentagon spokesperson declined to touch upon when Hicks and Brown discovered of Austin’s hospitalization.
Secretary of State Anthony Blinken stated throughout a press convention on Sunday that he “wasn’t aware of his medical issue” and had spoken to Austin final weekend.
“I’m very much looking forward to seeing him fully recovered and working side by side,” Blinken stated.
It stays unclear the extent to which his duties had been delegated to Hicks, or whether or not Austin was concerned in any key selections throughout his absence.
The Pentagon has but to element why Austin is being handled, whether or not he misplaced consciousness over the previous week or provide any particulars on when he is likely to be discharged from the hospital.
Democratic Consultant James Clyburn advised CNN on Sunday that he had been advised Austin is “now in charge of things as he was before the illness” and that he did not suppose the shortage of disclosure was a dereliction of responsibility.
“He does have a duty to keep the public informed, and I don’t know whether it was him or somebody inside of the military establishment that decided to do it this way, but I’m sure he will do a little better going forward, as he said he would,” Clyburn stated.