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U.S. Secretary of Protection Lloyd Austin testifies earlier than a Home Armed Companies Committee listening to on his failure to reveal his most cancers analysis and subsequent hospitalizations, on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC, on February 29, 2024.
Evelyn Hockstein | Reuters
Republicans questioned US Protection Secretary Lloyd Austin throughout a listening to on Thursday concerning the dealing with of his hospitalization in January after a most cancers analysis.
“It’s fully unacceptable that it took three days to tell the president of america that the secretary of Protection was within the hospital and had no management over the Pentagon,” mentioned Rep. Mike Rogers, R-Ala., the chairman of the Home Armed Companies Committee.
Thursday’s listening to targeted on why the Deputy Secretary of Protection and the White Home weren’t instantly notified that Austin was hospitalized after problems arose throughout surgical procedure to deal with his prostate most cancers.
“That is about judgment and poor judgment,” mentioned Michael Waltz, R-Fla. “My teenage daughter is aware of the right way to inform her supervisor if she just isn’t going to work. The American folks, truck drivers, bartenders know they’ve to inform their boss or they are going to be fired. However you have held your self to a distinct commonplace. And that’s unacceptable. .”
Austin doubled down on his apology from earlier this month, saying that regardless of the reporting breakdown throughout his hospital keep, there was by no means a lapse in Pentagon authority.
“We did not deal with this correctly, and I did not deal with it correctly. As you realize, I’ve apologized, together with on to the president, and I take full accountability,” Austin mentioned throughout Thursday’s listening to.
The listening to got here simply days after an inside Pentagon assessment mentioned the method for transferring the secretary’s powers needs to be improved, however that “nothing examined throughout this assessment confirmed any indication of malicious intent or an try and cowl it up.”
Republicans mentioned the incident endangered nationwide safety and mentioned the incident exhibits that President Joe Biden is both aloof or that Austin is out of the image.
“Our adversaries ought to worry us and what you probably did has embarrassed us,” mentioned Rep. Jim Banks, R-Ind.
Democrats mentioned Austin’s lack of transparency shouldn’t be repeated, however that lawmakers ought to concentrate on funding the federal government and offering assist to Ukraine.
“Moderately than criticize the Secretary of Protection on his exact course of on this state of affairs, we must always go forward and move the nationwide safety complement,” mentioned Rep. Adam Smith, D-Wash., the rating member of the Home Armed Companies Committee.
Austin mentioned the Pentagon has already carried out some modifications from the interior assessment, that are largely labeled. The Protection Division’s inspector common can also be investigating the incident.
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