On Friday night, the Pentagon revealed that Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin is recovering from hospitalization at Walter Reed Army Medical Center after experiencing complications from an elective medical procedure.
According to Pentagon press secretary Maj. Gen. Pat Ryder, Austin was committed to the hospital on Monday.
“He is recovering well and is expected 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,” Ryder said.
The Daily Wire reports that as late as Thursday's press briefing, the Department of Defense failed to mention Austin's condition, which left members of the media shocked and dismayed:
Barbara Starr, a former Pentagon correspondent for CNN, said in a thread on X that the “lack of disclosure that Sec Def was ill is a huge strategic failure. As of tonight I do not see a way forward for believing the Pentagon tells the truth on anything. Reporters are always skeptics but this goes far and deep beyond that always professional skepticism.”
While Starr wished Austin well and noted “there was a desire for patient privacy,” she also said “this is now a fundamental change in a DOD that claims it supports the press with disclosure and truthfulness.”
“NBC Nightly News” anchor Lester Holt said the Pentagon “refuses to say how serious his condition was or why he was not able to perform his duties.”
ABC News senior Pentagon reporter Luis Martinez said in a post to X, “Lots of questions being asked why it took the Pentagon so long to acknowledge this.”
The elective medical procedure for Austin, a 70-year-old retired four-star Army general with over four decades of military service, remains unclear.
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