Secretary of Defense Lloyd AustinAmerica’s secret hospitalizations “unnecessarily” increased America’s national security risk, according to a new report from the Department of Defense Office of Inspector General (OIG).
The Pentagon Watchdog’s scathing 188-page review examines the secretary’s hospitalizations in December 2023, January 2024 and February 2024 and places blame on Austin’s team for communications errors and failure to transfer authority.
OIG noted the key role that Austin’s “strong desire for privacy about his medical condition” played in the breakdown of communications within the Pentagon, as well as between the Department of Defense and the White House and Congress.
Neither Austin’s chief of staff nor Deputy Defense Secretary Kathleen Hicks were aware of his cancer diagnosis or the procedure he underwent in December 2023. In fact, OIG notes that “nearly all of its personnel” were unaware of Austin’s medical condition and treatments.
DR. MARC SIEGEL: PATIENT PRIVACY DOES NOT COVER LLOYD AUSTIN’S SECRET HOSPITAL PLACEMENT
Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin pauses during a media briefing at the Pentagon on November 17, 2021 in Washington, DC (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)
Evidence also shows that on January 1, 2024, when Austin was taken to Walter Reed National Military Medical Center for “severe” pain, he asked the ambulance not to use flashing lights or sirens. Additionally, according to the report, Austin told his personal security officer not to inform anyone about the incident.
“No one on Secretary Austin’s staff knew the severity of his condition, even as his condition deteriorated and he was transferred to the Surgical Intensive Care Unit on January 2,” OIG said in its report.
On January 3, 2024, Austin’s chief of staff, Kelly Magsamen, sent a text message to the secretary’s junior military assistant, who was in the hospital with the secretary at the time. In her message, Magsamen urged the secretary to be more forthcoming about his condition.
“I wish (Secretary Austin) was a normal person, but he’s the (Defense Secretary). We have a great institutional responsibility. He can’t just turn completely black from his staff. … Please inform him that we cannot keep him. His hospitalization will remain a secret forever. It’s a big deal for him to be in intensive care. And I am concerned,” Magsamen wrote, according to the OIG report.
U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin testifies before a House Armed Services Committee hearing on his failure to disclose his cancer diagnosis and subsequent hospitalizations on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC, February 29, 2024. (Reuters/Evelyn Hockstein)
The OIG also found that on February 11, 2024, when Austin was again unexpectedly admitted to the hospital, his authorities were not transferred until “several hours later.” Regarding this incident, the OIG noted that “given the severity of his condition,” Austin authorities “should have transferred him hours earlier than ultimately occurred.”
Following the review, the OIG provided DOD with 20 recommendations to “improve processes” and recommended that the department take immediate action.
PENTAGON PROVIDES SUMMARY OF THE AUSTIN HOSPITAL REVIEW
Inspector General Robert Storch said in a statement that “while the DoD has taken some important steps to address these concerns, additional improvements are needed to ensure readiness, transparency and the fulfillment of its mission. These improvements are not just an administrative necessity they are an operational and national security requirement.”
Ultimately, the report found that the Defense Department did not have a “comprehensive” plan for transferring duties in the event of the secretary’s absence.
After the report’s release, a senior defense official admitted to reporters that Austin “made a mistake,” insisting there was “no scandal” and “there was no cover-up.” The official also noted that “at all times the Secretary of Defense or the Deputy Secretary of Defense was fully prepared to support the President.”
Secretary of Defense Lloyd J. Austin testifies during a House Armed Services Committee hearing on his recent hospitalization and communication difficulties with President Biden at the Rayburn Building on February 29, 2024. (Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images)
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Austin acknowledged his office’s shortcomings at a press conference in February 2024, shortly after the hospitalizations became public.
“I want to be crystal clear. We didn’t handle this right, and I didn’t handle this right,” Austin said at the time about his previous hospitalization. “I should have told the president about my cancer diagnosis. I should have told my team and the American public, and I take full responsibility. I apologize to my teammates and to the American people.”
Liz Friden contributed to this report.
