Defense secretary Austin under fire from Washington Post for keeping America 'in the dark' on hospitalization
Deputy defense secretary was reportedly in the Caribbean on vacation during Austin's absence
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}The Washington Post editorial board dismantled the excuses for Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin's "hospital silence" after it was revealed that President Biden was not informed of Austin's absence for 48 hours.
"We wish Mr. Austin a full and swift recovery regardless of his precise condition," the editorial board wrote Monday. "We would also appreciate more information. So far, there has been no plausible explanation for the lack of transparency with which all of the above proceeded in real time."
The White House was "kept in the dark" about Austin's hospitalization, learning 48 hours after the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff first heard the news on Jan. 2.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}"That same day, the U.S. military conducted an airstrike against Islamist militants in Baghdad," The Post pointed out.
PENTAGON FACING BACKLASH OVER FAILING TO DISCLOSE SEC. AUSTIN'S ILLNESS: 'HARMS CREDIBILITY'
The Washington Post editorial board criticized the excuses for defense secretary Lloyd Austin's "hospital silence" after it was revealed that President Biden was not informed of Austin's absence for 48 hours. (Demetrius Freeman/The Washington Post via Getty Images // Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)
Austin, 70, was admitted to the intensive care unit at the Walter Reed National Military Medical Center on Jan. 1 for severe pain for complications following a recent elective medical procedure," Pentagon press secretary Maj. Gen. Pat Ryder said last week.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}The Post also wrote that "[p]erhaps the most incomprehensible fact" of Austin's secret hospital stay was that his own Deputy Defense Secretary Kathleen Hicks did not learn of the hospitalization until Jan. 4, "even though the Pentagon says Mr. Austin granted Ms. Hicks temporary duties on Jan. 2."
Hicks was reportedly "in the Caribbean, where she was vacationing, until Jan. 6."
The Post tore apart the Pentagon's excuses for Austin's silence. "When a Pentagon spokesman first disclosed Mr. Austin’s hospitalization, he attributed the delayed notification to patient privacy. Uh, no. Senior Cabinet officials do not have the same expectation of privacy as a private citizen or even a military officer — and especially with regard to what they tell the president."
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}DEFENSE DEPARTMENT TO UNDERGO REVIEW AFTER OVER FAILURES DURING AUSTIN’S HOSPITALIZATION
The Washington Post called for a "full accounting" as being the "first step" to bringing back transparency to the Pentagon. (Ian Waldie/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
The Post continued: "The fact that no one in the White House appears to have noticed the secretary’s absence for several days amid heated conflicts in the Middle East and in Ukraine is another riddle — and unfortunately implies Mr. Austin, though an able man, is not as central to national security decision-making as his counterparts, especially Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Mr. Sullivan."
"Also unfortunately, Mr. Austin’s penchant for secrecy regarding his health is consistent with his attitude toward public engagement more broadly, particularly his reluctance to interact more than minimally with the Pentagon press corps," the editorial board wrote.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}The Washington Post called for a "full accounting" as being the "first step" to bringing back transparency to the Pentagon, which is subject to the president's authority under the Constitution.
The Pentagon did not respond to a request for comment from Fox News Digital.
Fox News' Louis Casiano contributed to this report.
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