The Pentagon revealed that Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin was admitted to a Washington D.C. hospital on Monday following complications from elective surgery.
“On the evening of January 1, Secretary of Defense Lloyd J. Austin III was admitted to Walter Reed National Military Medical Center for complications following a recent elective medical procedure,” Pentagon Press Secretary Maj. Gen. Pat Ryder said in a statement. “He is recovering well and is expecting to resume his full duties today. At all times, the Deputy Secretary of Defense was prepared to act for and exercise the powers of the Secretary, if required.”
The hospitalization was kept from media sources due to “medical and personal privacy issues,” according to Fox News.
“This has been an evolving situation in which we [have] had to consider a number of factors including medical and personal privacy issues,” Ryder told the outlet. “We are now in a position to update you.”
The Pentagon Press Association (PPA) sent a letter from its board of directors to Secretary Austin’s personnel, expressing “significant concern” about the Defense Department’s failure to disclose Austin’s hospitalization.
“We are writing to express our significant concerns about the Defense Department’s failure to notify the public and the media about Secretary Lloyd Austin’s current hospitalization,” the letter said, according to The Gateway Pundit. “The fact that he has been at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center for four days and the Pentagon is only now alerting the public late on a Friday evening is an outrage.”
“It falls far below the normal disclosure standards that are customary by other federal departments when senior officials undergo medical procedures or are temporarily incapacitated,” the letter continued.
“The public has a right to know when U.S. Cabinet members are hospitalized, under anesthesia or when duties are delegated as the result of any medical procedure. That has been the practice even up to the president’s level. As the nation’s top defense leader, Secretary Austin has no claim to privacy in this situation.”
The letter noted that it is “particularly critical for the American public to be informed about the health status and decision-making ability of its top defense leader” amid “growing threats to U.S. military service members.”
