Pentagon chief failed to disclose hospitalisation

President Joe Biden was kept in the dark that Lloyd Austin was ill and unable to carry out his duties.

Lloyd Austin is in the Walter Reed National Military Medical Centre. Picture: AFP

US Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin has accepted responsibility for failing to disclose a recent hospitalisation, following reports that even top White House officials and President Joe Biden were in the dark that he was ill and unable to carry out his duties.

The Pentagon waited until Friday evening local time to announce that Mr Austin, 70, had been hospitalised four days prior “for complications following a recent elective medical procedure” – a breach of standard protocol at a time when the US is embroiled in the Middle East crisis.

NBC News reported Mr Austin was in the intensive care unit for four days, and remained at the hospital on Saturday.

“I recognise I could have done a better job ensuring the public was appropriately informed. I commit to doing better,” Mr Austin said in a statement on Sunday (AEDT). “But this is important to say: this was my medical procedure, and I take full responsibility for my decisions about disclosure.”

He added that he would be “returning to the Pentagon soon,” thanking the doctors and staff at Walter Reed National Military Medical Centre for their care.

Deputy Defence Secretary Kathleen Hicks was prepared to step in during Mr Austin’s illness and had made some routine decisions on his behalf during the time, a Pentagon spokesperson said.

Politico was the first of several media outlets to report that Mr Austin had been in the hospital for three days before Pentagon officials told National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan and other top White House officials.

Mr Sullivan then informed Mr Biden, the outlet said. It also reported that congress found out about Mr Austin’s hospitalisation 15 minutes before Friday evening’s public statement.

Tom Cotton, a Republican member of the Senate armed services committee, demanded an explanation.

“The Secretary of Defence is the key link in the chain of command between the President and the uniformed military, including the nuclear chain of command, when the weightiest of decisions must be made in minutes. If this report is true, there must be consequences for this shocking breakdown,” he said.

The Pentagon Press Association expressed “significant concerns” over the apparent cover-up.

AFP