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

[mystery-ak]

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

Four days after Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin was admitted to Walter Reed National Military Medical Center for "complications" from an "elective medical procedure," the Pentagon notified Congress.

The fact that the Secretary had been hospitalized since New Year's Day was disclosed Friday in a press statement.

    Maj. Gen. Patrick S. Ryder, the Pentagon press secretary, declined to elaborate on the source of Mr. Austin’s medical issues, citing patient privacy. But in a statement on Friday, General Ryder said the defense secretary, who is 70, is “recovering well and is expecting to resume his full duties today.”

    During Mr. Austin’s time in the hospital, Kathleen Hicks, the deputy defense secretary, “was prepared to act for and exercise the powers of the secretary, if required,” General Ryder said in the statement.

There is no word on what the "elective medical procedure" was, though with DOD's current infatuation with transgenderism, I'm terrified to find out.

I don't believe in indispensable men (except maybe George Washington); if I did, a midwit like Austin wouldn't be among them. There is nothing this guy has touched from the Afghan debacle to our response in the Red Sea that has been a disaster to him hiding under his bed with his blankey at the thought of "extremists" in the military (DOD's 'Military Extremism' Investigation Is a Dud) that hasn't been both sad and ridiculous.

more
https://redstate.com/streiff/2024/01/05/seccretary-of-defense-lloyd-austin-has-been-hospitalized-for-a-week-and-just-told-congress-today-n2168356

[mountaineer]

NBC: "Defense Sec. Lloyd Austin has been hospitalized since New Year's Day," but the Biden admin didn't disclose it until tonight — and "refuses to say how serious his condition was or why he was not able to perform his duties"

https://twitter.com/RNCResearch/status/1743460692542230691

[libertybele]

Just wonderful and he's our Sec'y of Defense! 

[mountaineer]

Who predicted any member of the cabinet could be unhealthier than the so-called Commander in Chief?

[mountaineer]

Tweets from a Military Times reporter:

Meghann Myers
@Meghann_MT
The Pentagon Press Association has sent a letter to @PentagonPresSec with concerns over how it’s possible that a senior member of the presidential cabinet was hospitalized without public notification, breaking norms across the federal government.

Meghann Myers
@Meghann_MT
If there’s one thing Lloyd Austin doesn’t like, it’s being in the news. But the problem with obfuscating is that you make things harder on yourself when news comes out.

----------------------

Supposedly related to "complications" from elective surgery, and he has been discharged: https://www.militarytimes.com/news/your-military/2024/01/05/defense-secretary-hospitalized-for-surgery-complications/

[DefiantMassRINO]

The Axis of Evil and Iran's Axis of Resistance may smell more Western weakness.

[Right_in_Virginia]

Does this really surprise anyone paying attention to this regime?

[Lando Lincoln]

Does this really surprise anyone paying attention to this regime?

It doesn’t surprise me in the least but it is stunning nonetheless. Does that make sense?  Crazy.

[Right_in_Virginia]

It doesn’t surprise me in the least but it is stunning nonetheless. Does that make sense?  Crazy.

Actually, it does @Lando Lincoln

[Timber Rattler]

More lies.  Apparently Austin has been in the ICU at Walter Reed and the Deputy SECDEF is on vacation in Puerto Rico.

[mountaineer]

Nobody told Biden his DefSec was in ICU (if that's where he was). Of course, what's the point of telling Biden - he'd forget it ten seconds later.

https://twitter.com/RNCResearch/status/1743805439005864230

https://twitter.com/SenTomCotton/status/1743755724931375145

[Lando Lincoln]

Jake Sullivan: “Mr. President. I just learned Lloyd Austin is in ICU at Walter Reed.”

Joe Biden: “Who?”

[mountaineer]

Jake Sullivan: “Mr. President. I just learned Lloyd Austin is in ICU at Walter Reed.”

Joe Biden: “Who?”

Joe Biden: Well, hi. I see you, too!

[mystery-ak]

NEW UPDATED UPDATE: SecDef Austin Did Not Tell Biden's National Security Adviser He Was in the ICU
streiff


The Department of Defense didn't notify the White House that Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin was in the Walter Reed National Medical Center intensive care unit until Thursday. That's it.

I've posted twice on the growing mystery of why the Defense Department failed to notify Congress that Secretary Austin was in the hospital. In the first episode, it was revealed in a Pentagon statement on Friday that Austin had been in the hospital since New Year's Day due to "complications" from an "elective medical procedure." This came as a shock to the Pentagon Press Corps and Congress.

The second act materialized earlier on Saturday with the report that Austin hadn't just been in the hospital; he'd been in the intensive care unit from Monday to Friday evening. His deputy, Kathleen Hicks, was on vacation in Puerto Rico at the time. While he was incapacitated and she was sunning herself, the US ordered a drone strike on the leader of an Iranian militia; the US Navy was trying to make the Red Sea safe for commercial traffic without upsetting the Iranians or Houthis, a war raged between Israel and Hamas, and North Korea lobbed a couple of hundred artillery rounds into South Korean waters.

I ended that update with this note.

    While we are focused on Congressional notification, no one has yet asked if the White House was told.

Now we have the answer to that question.

    The Pentagon did not inform senior officials in the White House’s National Security Council of Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin’s hospitalization until Thursday — three full days after he arrived at Walter Reed Medical Center, two U.S. officials said.

    The news came as a shock to top staff, including national security adviser Jake Sullivan, as they were unaware the DOD chief was dealing with complications following an elective medical procedure, the officials said. NSC staffers were surprised it took the Pentagon so long to let them know of Austin’s condition. The Pentagon didn’t make the information public until Friday evening, notifying Congress about 15 minutes before releasing a public statement.

more
https://redstate.com/streiff/2024/01/06/updated-update-secdef-austin-did-not-tell-bidens-national-security-adviser-he-was-in-the-icu-n2168382

[libertybele]

Who is supposed to take over if the Sec'y Defense is incapacitated??

[Lando Lincoln]

The circus is too big for the tent.

[rangerrebew]

President Joe Biden did not know for days that Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin was in hospital
Mr Austin, 70, sits just below the president at the top of the chain of command of the US military and his duties require him to be available at a moment's notice to respond to any manner of national security crises.

Sunday 7 January 2024 11:13, UK
 
President Joe Biden and senior leaders in his administration were unaware for days that US Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin had been in hospital since New Year's Day, American officials have said.

The Pentagon did not inform the White House National Security Council or top adviser Jake Sullivan of Mr Austin's hospital admission until Thursday, two administration officials told the Associated Press.
 
Mr Biden was only informed on Thursday evening, four days into Mr Austin's stay at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center in Bethesda, Maryland, another official told Reuters.

The 70-year-old sits just below the president at the top of the chain of command of the US military and his duties require him to be available at a moment's notice to respond to any manner of national security crises.

https://news.sky.com/story/president-joe-biden-did-not-know-for-days-that-defence-secretary-lloyd-austin-was-in-hospital-13043441

[rangerrebew]

It certainly makes me feel safer to know the information/commutations channels are so well connected.

[catfish1957]

Have heard of Amateur Night, but this nightmare has turned into Amateur 1/3 decade.

But as we often sumise, what we are more likely watching is more like treason disguised as incompetence. No one group of people on earth can "F" up this randomly and ofen.

[mountaineer]

Who is supposed to take over if the Sec'y Defense is incapacitated??

Admiral Rachel Dick Levine, maybe.

[rangerrebew]

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-12935607/Defense-Secretary-Lloyd-Austin-not-lose-job-Pentagon-hospital-surgery-White-House-Beau-Biden-Joe.html

No one in the Pentagon or administration noticed he was out of reach?  This is worse than it first sounded, especially since Austin kept it secret.  What is he hiding?

[Mod2]

Merged threads

[mystery-ak]

Jack Poso 🇺🇸
@JackPosobiec
·
15h
Here’s what really happened

The WH senior staff knew Austin was in the ICU but hid it from Biden. They’ve had massive fallout since October

Then, when he hit complications, it became unsustainable

Biden is livid, per WH staffer

[Timber Rattler]

Biden is livid, per WH staffer

As any self-respecting president should be.  SecDef or his deputy is expected to be in daily personal contact with the Prez.  This is a hugh breakdown in the chain of command and could have been exploited by China, Russia, and/or Iran. 

That's going to be on Jake Sullivan's head.

UPDATE

SecDef Takes 'Full Responsibility' for Hiding Hospitalization

https://hotair.com/jazz-shaw/2024/01/07/secdef-takes-full-responsibility-for-hiding-hospitalization-n603249

[mountaineer]

Yashar Ali 🐘
@yashar
NEWS
Deputy Secretary of Defense Kathleen Hicks was not informed that the Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin had been hospitalized in intensive care when she took over his duties while she was on vacation in Puerto Rico.
Hicks only learned that Austin had been hospitalized on Thursday, four days after he had been admitted, which is when President Biden and top White House officials found out as well.
CNN: https://t.co/RFpusaIF0g
12:16 PM · Jan 7, 2024

Cruadin
@cruadin
This is incoherent: She took over Austin's duties, but had no idea why?
Please ...  How about this, how about you half-wits get your BS, ass-covering story straight before you keep trotting out ever more absurd, self-indicting nonsense as an explanation.
Too much to ask?
12:49 PM · Jan 7, 2024

Jordan Schachtel @ dossier.today
@JordanSchachtel
Sec Def Lloyd Austin will not disclose the "elective procedure" he had that ended with him in the ICU for multiple days. 
The same guy who forced all service members to get experimental gene serum injections is now very concerned about health autonomy!
8:48 AM · Jan 7, 2024

Jordan Schachtel @ dossier.today
@JordanSchachtel
Also fascinating that his deputy was on vaca in Puerto Rico when he was out of commission.
And you have the cadaver at 1600 penn who is always in another dimension.
The chain of command is a complete mystery.
9:15 AM · Jan 7, 2024

[catfish1957]

I know that it is pretty much SOP in industy that non disclosure of an injury or illness that precludes you from doing your job is instant termination. 

Let's see how this plays out, given the race card.

[Right_in_Virginia]

Monica Crowley
@MonicaCrowley

The Commander-in-Chief is a Weekend-at-Bernie's corpse.

The Secretary of Defense was in the ICU in an undisclosed medical crisis & didn't tell his boss or anyone else - for days.

The Deputy Secy of Defense was sipping umbrella drinks on vacay in Puerto Rico.

ENOUGH IS ENOUGH with this dangerous catastrophe of a "presidency."


1:57 PM · Jan 7, 2024

[Right_in_Virginia]

[mountaineer]

It's not enough they lie to us. They even lie to each other - within the administration. Good grief.

[mountaineer]

Marc Thiessen
@marcthiessen
When I worked in OSD for Rumsfeld the SecDef and DepSecDef could not travel at the same time so that one was always in the Pentagon and there was no risk of the chain of command being interrupted.
The idea that the SecDef would be incapacitated and not inform his deputy or the commander in chief is unthinkable
12:54 PM · Jan 7, 2024

Matthew S Harrison
@MatthewSHarriso
And what was the elective surgery?   Why would a secdef consider elective surgery when we have multiple flashpoints in Africa and the middle eastnwhere we have troops directly engaged in fights on the ground?
Also, this is why there's no reporting on the attacks on our guys in Iraq and Syria this weekend.... #justsayin
1:25 PM · Jan 7, 2024

[LMAO]

I know that it is pretty much SOP in industy that non disclosure of an injury or illness that precludes you from doing your job is instant termination. 

Let's see how this plays out, given the race card.

His race, plus a compliant media, will protect him

[Timber Rattler]

Oh it just gets better and better...!

‘He’s a cipher’: How Austin’s need for privacy just backfired

https://www.politico.com/news/2024/01/07/austin-has-long-been-a-quiet-operator-that-just-backfired-on-him-00134199

Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin is one of the most reclusive Pentagon chiefs in recent memory. That’s creating a major problem for him now.

Austin’s failure to inform his most senior advisers, congressional leaders and even President Joe Biden of his hospitalization last week due to complications from a medical procedure has erupted into a controversy that’s left senior White House and Pentagon officials infuriated and befuddled. Some Republicans quickly called for investigations or even for Austin to be disciplined or fired.

Advertisement
Joint Chiefs Chair Gen. C.Q. Brown was not informed of Austin’s situation until Tuesday, the day after his hospitalization, a senior Defense Department official told POLITICO on Sunday. Even Deputy Defense Secretary Kathleen Hicks, who assumed some of his duties while he was in the hospital, did not know his whereabouts until Thursday, a second senior DOD official said after CNN first reported the news.

“My sense is his desire to be private about a routine medical procedure kind of backfired when it didn’t go as planned,” said one senior U.S. official. “He’s so loyal and duty-bound. It’s all just very odd.”

(snip)

The Pentagon says the delay in notifying senior administration officials about Austin’s hospitalization was partly due to the fact his chief of staff was also out with her own illness at the same time.

It seems that the U.S. military chain of command was completely broken at the top this past week.

[mountaineer]

John Hayward
@Doc_0
The Secretary of Defense disappearing for days without telling anyone while the world is on fire from Joe Biden's foreign policy is very on-brand for the Biden clown show. Iran shuts down a big chunk of global shipping with Yemeni terrorists and nobody knows where SecDef is.
8:16 AM · Jan 8, 2024

[mystery-ak]

Okay - Now the Joint Chiefs Head Knew About Austin and Agreed to KEEP THE SECRET?!
Lara Seligman and Alexander Ward from Politico 7:40 PM on January 07, 2024

Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin is one of the most reclusive Pentagon chiefs in recent memory. That’s creating a major problem for him now.

Austin’s failure to inform his most senior advisers, congressional leaders and even President Joe Biden of his hospitalization last week due to complications from a medical procedure has erupted into a controversy that’s left senior White House and Pentagon officials infuriated and befuddled. Some Republicans quickly called for investigations or even for Austin to be disciplined or fired.

Joint Chiefs Chair Gen. C.Q. Brown was not informed of Austin’s situation until Tuesday, the day after his hospitalization, a senior Defense Department official told POLITICO on Sunday. Even Deputy Defense Secretary Kathleen Hicks, who assumed some of his duties while he was in the hospital, did not know his whereabouts until Thursday, a second senior DOD official said after CNN first reported the news.

“My sense is his desire to be private about a routine medical procedure kind of backfired when it didn’t go as planned,” said one senior U.S. official. “He’s so loyal and duty-bound. It’s all just very odd.”

[These clowns ALL need to be on the unemployment line. ~ Beege]

more
https://hotair.com/headlines/2024/01/07/okay-now-the-joint-chiefs-head-knew-about-austin-and-agreed-to-keep-the-secret-n603472

[libertybele]

No worries. Our government is in such great shape.

[Wingnut]

Matthew S Harrison
@MatthewSHarriso
And what was the elective surgery?   Why would a secdef consider elective surgery when we have multiple flashpoints in Africa and the middle eastnwhere we have troops directly engaged in fights on the ground?
Also, this is why there's no reporting on the attacks on our guys in Iraq and Syria this weekend.... #justsayin
1:25 PM · Jan 7, 2024

  Did he have a sex change operation? 

[mystery-ak]

‘Austin’s Going Nowhere’ — Biden Not Considering Sacking Defense Secretary Who Failed to Disclose Hospitalization

Although Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin failed to inform the White House about his recent hospitalization, President Joe Biden (D) is not considering firing him, Politico reported Monday.

https://www.breitbart.com/national-security/2024/01/08/austins-going-nowhere-president-joe-biden-not-considering-sacking-defense-secretary-who-failed-to-disclose-hospitalization/

[mountaineer]

  Did he have a sex change operation?

Just wanted to fit into today's military.

[libertybele]

Just wanted to fit into today's military.

At this point, I don't know whether to laugh or cry. 

[mystery-ak]

CNN’s Phillip: White House Wouldn’t Talk to Us About Secret Austin Hospitalization While U.S. Forces Were Attacked

Ian Hanchett 9 Jan 2024

On Monday’s broadcast of CNN’s “Newsnight,” host Abby Phillip laid out all the major events that occurred during Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin’s hospitalization and stated that White House officials turned down requests from the show to explain the situation.

Phillip said, “The mystery involving the nation’s Defense Secretary is even wilder tonight. First of all, a week later, Lloyd Austin is actually still in the hospital. Why? Well, we don’t know and we don’t know which procedure put him there in the first place. We don’t know what his condition is. And we don’t know why it seems that very few people in the Biden administration seemed to be aware of it. Now, that includes Austin’s number two at the Pentagon the president himself. Now, if you take a look at the org. chart here, only the Joint Chiefs was in the know about all of this.”

She continued, “And if you take a step back further and look at what transpired in the world just in the last week while few people were aware of this, it is pretty alarming considering that Austin is the man in charge of this country’s armed forces. Two wars are underway, of course, both of which involve U.S. funds and interests. Separately, a senior Hamas official was killed, attacks on U.S. and coalition forces in Iraq and Syria intensified — surpassing 120 instances, dozens are killed in an ISIS-claimed terrorist attack near the grave of an Iranian commander — it’s the deadliest in Iran since the ’79 revolution, American forces launched a rare airstrike in Baghdad, killing the leader of an Iranian-backed militia, the Houthis launched another drone attack against the Red Sea shipping lanes, it was reported that Russia is on the verge of buying ballistic missiles from Iran, and the Koreas escalated tensions with shots fired during drills. Now, we’ve asked the White House to appear on ‘Newsnight’ and provide some sunlight, but they declined.”

https://www.breitbart.com/clips/2024/01/09/cnns-phillip-white-house-wouldnt-talk-to-us-about-secret-austin-hospitalization-while-u-s-forces-were-attacked/

[mystery-ak]

CNN’s Clapper: Austin’s Secret Hospitalization Isn’t a Big Deal, He’s ‘an Introvert’ and His Security Knew Where He Was

On Monday’s broadcast of CNN’s “The Source,” CNN National Security Analyst and former Director of National Intelligence James Clapper argued that the outcry over Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin being hospitalized in secret is “making a mountain out of a molehill”

https://www.breitbart.com/clips/2024/01/08/cnns-clapper-austins-secret-hospitalization-isnt-a-big-deal-hes-an-introvert-and-his-security-knew-where-he-was/

[Lando Lincoln]

This is just crazy. I understand the individual right to privacy but isn’t there a certain moral duty to inform the American people of more detail than what we have been given?  Shouldn’t we know if there was a break in the chain of command?  Shouldn’t we know Lloyd’s physical fitness for duty, never mind his competence? 

So yeah, if he has a perforated colon from a colonoscopy, I think we should know.

[rangerrebew]

Rosendale to file impeachment articles against Austin
BY ELLEN MITCHELL - 01/08/24 8:19 PM ET
 

Hard-line House Republican Matt Rosendale (Mont.) on Monday announced plans to introduce an impeachment resolution against Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin over his failure last week to notify the White House and Congress he had been hospitalized for several days, as well as the troubled withdrawal from Afghanistan in 2021 and the Chinese spy balloon that flew over parts of the country last year.

Rosendale, who will be introducing the article of impeachment when the House meets Tuesday afternoon, said Austin’s decision not to disclose his stay at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center in Washington, D.C., “violated his oath of office” and “jeopardized the lives of the American people,” according to a statement from his office.


In an interview with The Vince Coglianese Show earlier Monday, Rosendale declined to say who would be co-sponsoring his action as he had just returned to Washington, D.C. and his team is still “putting this together.”

“I am introducing a resolution tomorrow for impeachment. This is really, really frightening. . .  When the secretary of Defense is MIA, that just compounds everything else, every threat that is presented to the country, every conflict that is going on around the world right now. This is very problematic,” said Rosendale, who has said he is “heavily considering running” for the U.S. Senate seat currently held by Democrat Jon Tester.

https://thehill.com/policy/defense/4396437-rosendale-to-file-impeachment-articles-against-austin/

[rangerrebew]

Why do I get the feeling this is exactly what Biden, Austin, puppet master, et.al., have suckered republicans into doing?

[rangerrebew]

Biden Has ‘Full Confidence’ In Austin, Won’t Accept Resignation If Offered: Reports
By  Daniel Chaitin
•
Jan 8, 2024   DailyWire.com
 
President Joe Biden reportedly has no intention of having Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin leave his administration over a secretive hospital stay.

Senior administration officials told POLITICO the president would not accept the defense secretary’s resignation if offered. “Austin’s going nowhere,” one of the sources said. The report follows a White House official telling Reuters that Biden has “full confidence” in Austin and is “looking forward to him being back at the Pentagon.”

The Department of Defense (DoD) announced on Friday that Austin had been admitted to Walter Reed National Military Medical Center for “complications following a recent elective medical procedure” a week ago.

https://www.dailywire.com/news/biden-has-full-confidence-in-austin-wont-accept-resignation-if-offered-reports

[rangerrebew]

Why would Biden accept Austin's resignation when he's doing such a masterful job of destroying the military?

[GtHawk]

This is just crazy. I understand the individual right to privacy but isn’t there a certain moral duty to inform the American people of more detail than what we have been given?  Shouldn’t we know if there was a break in the chain of command?  Shouldn’t we know Lloyd’s physical fitness for duty, never mind his competence? 

So yeah, if he has a perforated colon from a colonoscopy, I think we should know.

Two takeaways from this, one is that apparently Austin isn't all that necessary if he can be out of the picture with all the insanity going on in the world right now, and two I'll keep on taking a hard pass on a colonoscopy as long as the colorectal test is clear

I guess we know for sure that at least two of Biden's cabinet members are superfluous, Austin and Buttjigger. Oh wait I guess Kerry is too , and....

[mystery-ak]

 

Defense Secretary’s Office to Investigate Itself for Failure to Notify Biden, Others of His Hospitalization

Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin’s office is investigating itself for breakdowns in notifying Joe Biden and others about his hospitalization.

https://www.breitbart.com/politics/2024/01/09/defense-secretarys-office-to-investigate-itself-over-hospitalization-notification-procedures/

[Lando Lincoln]

Defense Secretary’s Office to Investigate Itself for Failure to Notify Biden, Others of His Hospitalization

We couldn’t make up such nonsense if we tried.

[catfish1957]

We couldn’t make up such nonsense if we tried.

The whole premise of Merrick Garland being at the top of the pyramid in investigative and law enforcement powers tops them all though.

POTUS Hayes would just have much as put Jesse James in charge of the Director of the U.S. Mint.