The Pentagon announced Monday that Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin remains hospitalized but is recovering and “doing well,” despite an uproar over his failure to publicize his hospitalization for several days.
Austin was admitted to Walter Reed National Military Medical Center in Bethesda, Maryland, on January 1 due to severe pain following an elective surgery on December 22, 2023.
“He is no longer in the intensive care unit, but is recovering in a more private area of the hospital,” Pentagon spokesman Air Force Maj. Gen. Pat Ryder said in a statement. “He continues to feel discomfort, but the prognosis is good.”
Defense Secretary Austin has no plans to resign, the Pentagon says
Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin remains hospitalized a week after suffering server pain after an elective procedure, the Pentagon announced Monday. (Ian Waldie/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
“Since resuming work Friday night, the Secretary has received operational updates and provided necessary guidance,” Ryder added. “He has full access to the necessary secure communications capabilities and continues to monitor [Defense Department] We conduct daily operations around the world. ”
The day after Austin was hospitalized, Deputy Secretary of Defense Kathleen Hicks took over some of the defense secretary's duties. The Pentagon said Hicks and National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan were informed of Austin's hospitalization on January 4.
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Mr. Austin assumed full secretarial duties on Friday. Since then, Ryder said he has been receiving updates on operations and staying in touch with his staff. He also received operational updates from Gen. Eric Kurilla, commander of U.S. Central Command, Deputy Secretary Hicks, and Gen. CQ Brown Jr., chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.
“He will continue to focus on his recovery throughout the day today, while also communicating with senior leadership at the department and the White House,” Ryder said. “Obviously, all of us in the department wish him a speedy recovery,” Ryder said.
Ryder said a specific date for Austin's discharge from the hospital has not yet been determined.
Friday, April 21, 2023, at the Department of Defense Building in Arlington, Virginia. (Photographer: Tom Brenner/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
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President Biden, the National Security Council and top Pentagon officials, including Hicks, kept it a secret for several days that Austin was taken to a hospital's intensive care unit for treatment in the new year. Some members of Congress are calling for Austin's resignation over the issue.
Ryder said earlier Monday that Austin's chief of staff, Kelly Magsamen, did not inform the White House about Austin's hospitalization because he had the flu.
The Pentagon says he has no plans to resign.
