Apparently, the 81-year-old president had no idea the nation was without a defense chief for three days. It’s not the first time a cabinet official has gone missing during a crisis.
On Monday, the Guardian reported Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin was abruptly admitted to the Walter Reed intensive care unit after “experiencing severe pain” on Jan. 1. Deputy Defense Secretary Kathleen Hicks was on vacation when the principal Pentagon official was incapacitated.
“Hicks assumed some of [Austin’s] operational duties on Jan. 2,” Reuters reported, “But, Hicks was only told why Austin was unavailable on Jan. 4.”
“That’s the same day that Biden and other senior White House officials were told that Austin had been hospitalized since Jan. 1,” the wire added, citing “five officials.”
“It’s worth mentioning Hicks was notified of Austin’s hospitalization on the same day the U.S. military carried out drone strikes in Baghdad that resulted in the death of an ‘Iranian-backed militia leader,’” reported The Federalist’s Shawn Fleetwood. “The strikes came following weeks of attacks on U.S. troops in Iraq and Syria by Iranian-backed groups in the wake of Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023 attack on Israel.”
In an interview with Politico Playbook published Thursday, former Defense Secretary Leon Panetta was candid about Austin’s abrupt incapacitation.
“Let’s face it, they dodged a bullet,” Panetta said, “because if something had happened in that gap that was created, that could’ve been a serious event.”
“Many questions remain about the series of events related to Austin’s stay in the hospital,” The Wall Street Journal reported
