FROM OUR CORRESPONDENT
NEW YORK – For four days in January, President Biden did not know that the Pentagon was led not by his defense secretary, Lloyd Austin, but by his deputy, Kathleen Hicks, who was summoned to represent him from a beach in Puerto Rico, where he was vacationing . The Defense Department's inspector general has announced an internal investigation into the hospitalization of Pentagon chief Austin on Jan. 1, which left the White House and Congress in the dark for days, in apparent violation of protocol rules.
Austin, 70, a retired general, had complications after surgery for prostate cancer on December 22 and ended up in the intensive care unit at Walter Reed Medical Center in Washington on January 1 because of nausea and pain, where he remained for a few days.
Already during the operation, which required an overnight hospital stay, there was a transfer of power to Hicks; On January 2, she was informed that she was needed again, although she was still in Puerto Rico. The reason was not explained to her, and although she was surprised, she would not have asked, military sources said and the Wall Street Journal reported.
The announcement of the internal investigation came after several Republican members and at least one Democrat of Congress called for the Pentagon chief to resign. Both political rivals and allies of President Biden have criticized Austin's decision not to inform leadership, as well as that of the few key figures in the department who, after learning about it on January 2, decided to keep their mouths shut.
The White House was informed on January 4th and the public the following day, while the diagnosis of prostate cancer was not announced until January 10th. On Jan. 1, Austin's chief of staff was at home with the flu and his deputy was away, which may have contributed to the lack of communication about the hospitalization, but the Journal ultimately attributes the matter to the “culture of secrecy.” Since then, Austin's term in office has been a feature since January 2021.
While the Pentagon chief was in intensive care, the US carried out a drone strike against a pro-Iranian militia leader in Baghdad and issued an ultimatum to the Houthis, Yemeni rebels, to stop attacks on trade routes in the Red Sea . The Republican-led Armed Services Committee has also expressed its intention to conduct an investigation that will lead to hearings that will negatively impact the administration's image as Biden runs for a second term. However, spokesman John Kirby said the president wanted Austin to remain defense secretary.