Lloyd Austin to face grilling from lawmakers over secret hospital visits
An internal Pentagon report on Austin's absence left many questions hanging
By Anders Hagstrom Fox News
Published February 29, 2024 6:48am EST
Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin will face a grilling from lawmakers in his first appearance before Congress since his secretive hospital visits in January.
Austin will appear before the GOP-controlled House Armed Services Committee. Several lawmakers on the committee have blasted the secretary both for not informing Congress of his days-long hospital visit, but also for keeping President Biden in the dark.
Lawmakers are concerned the secretive move could have caused a breakdown in the chain of command stretching from the White House to the Pentagon. While Austin insists he transferred authority to a secretary during his hospital visit, concerns remain given he informed none of his superiors of the move.
Austin's frequent hospital visits come thanks to a prostate cancer diagnosis, which he received in December. The offending hospital visit came on January 1, when he was taken to Walter Reed National Military Medical Center via ambulance. He was soon transferred to intensive care.
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