Senate Republicans call for hearing into Defense secretary’s hospitalization

Senate Republicans on Thursday called for a congressional hearing into Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin’s secretive hospitalization as lawmakers express growing concerns about the failure to notify key officials of his absence.

Sen. Roger Wicker (R-Miss.), ranking member on the Senate Armed Services Committee, said the Democratic majority must convene a hearing to get answers on the Pentagon scandal.

Wicker said the concerns that Austin failed to tell President Biden and other senior officials of his hospitalization “is not a partisan issue” and the hospitalization was “not a minor occurrence.”

“It is an occurrence of such magnitude and importance and seriousness that certainly key members of the department, including his own deputy, should be notified,” Wicker said at a press briefing.

Wicker and other Senate Armed Services Committee Republicans sent a letter this week to Austin demanding a timeline of the events around his hospitalization and answers to 17 questions.

Rep. Mike Rogers (R-Ala.), chair of the House Armed Services Committee, also launched a formal investigation into the issue this week.

Some Republican lawmakers, including House Republican Conference Chair Rep. Elise Stefanik (N.Y.), have called for the resignation of Austin as they slam the Pentagon chief for endangering national security by refusing to notify officials of his absence.

Wicker said he is not backing resignation calls yet.

“When we have a hearing we may find out different facts that lead to a different conclusion,” he said. “But at this point, I have not made that call.”

Austin, who has prostate cancer, acknowledged the concerns around transparency and took full responsibility for the scandal. And Pentagon staff who pledged to improve transparency are conducting a 30-day review of the events.

The Defense Department inspector general is also reviewing the incident, and the White House is looking into protocols for how cabinet officials delegate authority.

Austin learned of his cancer diagnosis in early December and after a Dec. 22 related surgery, he suffered from a urinary tract infection that led to a hospital visit via ambulance on Jan. 1, spending days in intensive care.

President Biden and the White House did not learn of his hospitalization until Jan. 4 and first learned he had cancer this week. Deputy Secretary of Defense Kathleen Hicks took command of the Pentagon from Jan. 2-5 but did not learn of the hospitalization until Jan. 4.

Austin is recovering out of the intensive care unit and resumed full responsibilities Friday but is facing pressure to explain why officials were notified late.

Sen. Rick Scott (R-Fla.) said Thursday that administration officials must be transparent and held accountable when they fail to do so.

“He’s got a critical role in every issue that we deal with outside this country and inside this country, clearly with nuclear protocols,” Scott said of Austin during the press briefing with Wicker. “For him to be unable to execute his duties and not tell the National Security Council or the president, you just can’t even make this stuff up.”