The House Armed Services Committee has called Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin to come before Congress and testify about his decision to wait several days before notifying the White House and Congress about a medical episode that rendered him incapable of performing his duties.
Mr. Austin had recently been diagnosed with prostate cancer and originally underwent surgery on Dec. 22 to “treat and cure” it, according to the Department of Defense. Mr. Austin was discharged the day after his Dec. 22 surgery but was rehospitalized on Jan. 1 after experiencing severe pain. Mr. Austin’s chief of staff notified the deputy secretary of defense and the White House national security adviser of his hospitalization on the afternoon of Jan. 4. Members of Congress weren’t notified of the situation until the afternoon of Jan. 5.
Committee Chairman Mike Rogers (R-Ala.) sent a letter to Mr. Austin on Thursday, calling on the defense secretary to testify before Congress on Feb. 14.
“When you and I last spoke, you promised full transparency into questions regarding the secrecy of your recent hospitalization. While you did respond to some of my questions I had for you, a concerning number of questions were not addressed,” Mr. Rogers’ letter reads. “Specifically, I am alarmed you refused to answer whether you instructed your staff to not inform the President of the United States or anyone else of your hospitalization. Unfortunately, this leads me to believe that information is being withheld from Congress. Congress must understand what happened and who made decisions to prevent the disclosure of the whereabouts of a cabinet secretary.”
The request for records and testimony from Mr. Austin comes amid growing calls for his removal.
Questions for the Secretary of Defense
Mr. Rogers’s letter lays out several lines of questioning he expects the defense secretary to address next month, including what instructions he gave his staff about whether or not to inform others in government about his hospitalization, an account of official actions he approved during his hospitalization, and any actions taken by the U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) while he was not acting in his capacity as the defense secretary.
The Republican committee chairman said Deputy Defense Secretary Kathleen Hicks had also failed to answer several questions he’d raised with her, such as when she first understood that President Joe Biden was not aware of his defense secretary’s hospitalization, and how she made decisions when Mr. Austin delegated his authority to her.
Part of the stated reason for the delay in notification of Mr. Austin’s hospitalization was that his chief of staff Kelly Magsamen was out of work for multiple days with the flu.
Mr. Rogers asked for a more precise timeline of Ms. Magsamen’s work absence, and whether she made any official communications while she was out sick. Mr. Rogers also asked whether reports are accurate that Ms. Magsamen, Pentagon spokesman Maj. Gen. Pat Ryder, senior military aide Lt. Gen. Ronald Clark, and the defense secretary’s assistant for public affairs Chris Meagher, were all aware of Mr. Austin’s hospitalization.
The Republican committee chairman also noted an audio recording, obtained through a Freedom of Information Act request, indicated that an aide for Mr. Austin requested an ambulance dispatched to the defense secretary’s residence on Jan. 1 arrive without its lights and sirens on.
“We’re trying to remain a little subtle,” the caller told emergency dispatchers on the Jan. 1 call.
Mr. Rogers raised questions about the secretive nature of the ambulance request.
“Who specifically made this request, and for what reason? Did you personally direct that this request be made, and if so, for what reason?” Mr. Rogers’s letter asks.
The Republican committee chairman also asked if there are any other previously undisclosed instances in which Ms. Hicks has had to assume the duties of the secretary of defense, and asked Mr. Austin to specify any occasions in which this transfer of authority came as the result of medical episodes that rendered him incapable of performing those duties.
Calls for Austin’s Removal
Pressure is mounting to see Mr. Austin removed from his position.
Several Republican politicians have outright called for Mr. Austin to either resign or be fired following this undisclosed hospitalization episode.
“This concerning lack of transparency exemplifies a shocking lack of judgment and a significant national security threat,” House GOP Conference Chair Elise Stefanik (R-N.Y.) said on Jan. 8. “There must be full accountability beginning with the immediate resignation of Secretary Austin and those that lied for him and a Congressional investigation into this dangerous dereliction of duty.”
Former president and 2024 Republican frontrunner Donald Trump said in a post on his Truth social media account on Jan. 7, that Mr. Austin “should have been dismissed long ago” for a variety of reasons, but in particular for his handling of the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan in 2021.
Democratic politicians have been more hesitant in responding to Mr. Austin’s undisclosed hospitalization. Rep. Adam Smith (D-Wash.), the ranking member on the House Armed Services Committee, has said President Biden should at least consider removing Mr. Austin but said Republicans may try to politicize Mr. Austin’s failure to disclose his hospitalization early on.
Rep. Chris DeLuzio (D-Pa.) is the first Democratic lawmaker to publicly call for Mr. Austin’s resignation.
“I have lost trust in Secretary Lloyd Austin’s leadership of the Defense Department due to the lack of transparency about his recent medical treatment and its impact on the continuity of the chain of command,” Mr. Deluzio said. “I have a solemn duty in Congress to conduct oversight of the Defense Department through my service on the House Armed Services Committee. That duty today requires me to call on Secretary Austin to resign.”
Thus far, President Biden has rebuffed calls to remove his defense secretary and has characterized the hospitalization controversy as a lapse of judgement by Mr. Austin.
While the president may not bend to calls to remove his defense secretary, lawmakers may attempt to force the removal a different way. Rep. Matt Rosendale (R-Mont.) is also advancing an effort to impeach Mr. Austin.