Republican Arkansas Sen. Tom Cotton said Monday that Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin’s failure to disclose his hospitalization “raises some troubling questions” as to what may be being concealed about President Joe Biden’s health.
Austin was hospitalized last week because of complications from an elective medical procedure, but failed to inform anyone of his whereabouts in the days following, including the White House, Pentagon and his deputy Defense secretary. Cotton told Fox News’ Sandra Smith that Biden’s ignorance as to Austin’s condition separately raises concerns about the president’s own physical and mental health. (RELATED: Here’s What We Know About Lloyd Austin’s Disappearance)
“If this administration would conceal a mere elective minor surgery for [Austin], what might they be concealing about Joe Biden’s health?” Cotton said. “Or another, what’s worse? That the secretary of Defense was hospitalized and unable to perform his duty for four days without the president of the United States knowing, much less the Congress or the public – or the fact that no one noticed?”
“It raises questions about Joe Biden’s competence and whether he’s really in charge at the White House,” Cotton said.
WATCH:
Biden was not informed of Austin’s initial hospitalization for his medical procedure on Dec. 22, nor was he informed when Austin went back to the hospital due to complications from the procedure on Jan. 1, according to CNN Pentagon reporter Haley Britzky. Biden has no plans to remove Austin from his post even after the confusion, with one senior White House official going so far as to say the president wouldn’t accept his resignation if offered it.
Concerns about Biden’s health continue to rise going into the 2024 presidential election, as the President has recently made several gaffes during press conferences or public speaking events or seemed to lose sense of his whereabouts. Biden’s doctor said after his physical examination in February 2023 that he was “fit for duty… without exceptions and accommodations.”
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