USecretary of Defense Lloyd Austin has been harshly criticized for initially concealing his cancer at a congressional hearing in Washington. “It is completely unacceptable that it took three days to inform the President of the United States that the Secretary of Defense is in the hospital and is not in control of the Pentagon,” said House Armed Services Committee Chairman Mike on Thursday in the presence of the minister Rogers.
The opposition Republican MP referred to the wars in the Gaza Strip and Ukraine and the attacks by Yemen's Houthi rebels in the Red Sea. But President Joe Biden, as commander in chief of the armed forces, “did not know that his defense secretary was out of action.” Criticism of Austin also came from the ranks of Biden's Democrats. Her chairman of the Armed Forces Committee, Adam Smith, said this “lack of transparency” should not happen again.
Austin emphasized that there was no “break in command and control” during his hospital stays. However, he once again admitted to errors in communication about his illness: “We didn't get it right.” The Pentagon chief had already apologized in a press conference at the beginning of February. “I should have told the president about my cancer diagnosis,” he said at the time.
Austin, 70, was hospitalized three times between December and January after being diagnosed with prostate cancer. Because the minister initially concealed the illness from Biden and Congress, he drew sharp criticism.
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