President Joe Biden is not considering firing Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin after the Pentagon failed to notify the White House about his hospitalization for several days, a White House official confirmed to the Daily Caller.
Top White House National Security Council (NSC) officials were not made aware of Austin’s hospitalization at Walter Reed Hospital in Washington, D.C., on Jan. 1, or his reported stay in the intensive care unit for several days due to issues stemming from a medical procedure. Despite the communication breakdown, Biden has no plans to remove Austin from his position and looks forward to the Defense secretary’s return, a White House official told the Daily Caller.
“President Biden spoke with Secretary Austin on Saturday evening and it was a warm conversation,” a White House official told the Daily Caller. “The President looks forward to Secretary Austin’s return to the Pentagon.”
White House national security spokesperson John Kirby also said Monday “there is no plan for anything other than for Secretary Austin to stay in the job.”
Reuters first reported that Biden was not considering firing Austin.
The White House official did not answer if the president finds the communication breakdown acceptable or if there were plans to hold anyone accountable for the failure to communicate Austin’s hospitalization to the president.
“President Biden appreciates Secretary Austin taking ownership and pledging to improve transparency going forward,” the White House official told the Daily Caller. “He continues to have full trust and confidence in the Secretary.”
The White House does plan to look into the communication process between the DOD and the executive branch to determine “if there are changes that need to be made,” Kirby said Monday.
“We’ll take a look at the process and procedure here and try to learn from this experience,” Kirby added.
U.S. President Joe Biden, Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin and Vice President Kamala Harris arrive for an event to announce the President’s intent to nominate Gen. Charles Q. Brown, Jr. to serve as the next Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff in the Rose Garden of the White House May 25, 2023 in Washington, DC. Photo by Drew Angerer/Getty Images)
If Austin were to put in a letter of resignation, Biden would not accept it, a senior administration official told Politico.
Information on Austin’s hospitalization first was made public by the Department of Defense (DOD) on Friday evening, reportedly giving congressional lawmakers a 15-minute notice before they broke the news, according to Politico. National security adviser Jake Sullivan was not notified of Austin’s hospitalization until Thursday. (RELATED: ‘Dereliction Of Duty’: Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin Draws Fire Over Handling Of Undisclosed Medical Condition)
Following backlash from both Republicans and Democrats, Austin released a statement taking responsibility for the lack of communication with the White House. Austin’s statement did not clarify what medical issue caused him to be admitted to Walter Reed Hospital.
“I recognize I could have done a better job ensuring the public was appropriately informed. I commit to doing better,” Austin said in the statement Saturday. “But this is important to say: this was my medical procedure, and I take full responsibility for my decisions about disclosure.”
