Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin Has Been Hospitalized for a Week and Just Told Congress Today

[mountaineer]

UPDATE Jan. 15, 2025

Defense Secretary Hid Hospitalization While on Medication That Can Affect Brain Function, Pentagon Watchdog Says
Lloyd Austin’s move posed ‘unnecessary’ national security risks, report finds
Matthew Xiao
January 15, 2025
Free Beacon

Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin’s decision last year to keep his hospitalization secret and remain in command while on medication that could affect brain function "unnecessarily" increased national security risks, according to a Pentagon watchdog report.

"The risks to our national defense, including the command and control of the Defense Department's critical national security operations, were increased unnecessarily," Inspector General Robert Storch said, though his investigation "found no adverse consequences to Defense Department operations."

Austin was hospitalized on January 1, 2024, due to complications from a prostate cancer surgery in December and was transferred to the intensive care unit the following day. The defense secretary waited several days before informing his deputy Kathleen Hicks and President Joe Biden, according to the Wednesday report.

"Secretary Austin received several different medications during the morning of January 2 that had the potential to affect cognitive functions," the inspector general wrote. ...

[Smokin Joe]

I wish I could go missing for a week and my boss didn't know.

Half of the federal employees don't actually show up in the office...("remote" work).

[mountaineer]

Report: Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin Went MIA Twice Last Year And Didn’t Tell Congress
By: Shawn Fleetwood
January 16, 2025
The Federalist

Lloyd Austin transferred his responsibilities as defense secretary to a subordinate on two separate occasions last year and didn’t inform Congress as required by federal law, according to an explosive inspector general report released Wednesday. The revelation marks another instance in which Austin has been caught going MIA while leading the Pentagon.

Released by the office of the Department of Defense (DOD) inspector general, the report primarily focuses on a controversy involving Austin that arose in January 2024. The defense secretary was admitted to Walter Reed’s ICU on Jan. 1 after reportedly “experiencing severe pain,” which seemingly stemmed from an “initial medical procedure” he underwent on Dec. 22, 2023, according to The Guardian.

The report confirms Austin’s procedure was related to a prostate cancer diagnosis.  ...

But it appears that wasn’t the only instance in which Austin failed to properly notify relevant authorities about transferring his duties to Hicks.

According to Wednesday’s IG report, the Pentagon “did not report two [Assumption of Functions and Duties] AFDs, occurring on June 17, 2024, and June 21, 2024, to the Comptroller General and Congress” as required by federal law and DOD policy.  ...