CNN National Security analyst David Sanger called Defense Sec. Lloyd Austin’s hospital disappearance “astounding” Wednesday.
Austin failed to notify the president and other authorities that he was in the ICU at Walter Reed hospital for an “elective” surgery. The Pentagon announced Tuesday that Austin was secretly hospitalized after complications arose from his prostate cancer. The White House has ordered a protocol review of the matter.
“That was a huge development to learn that Secretary Austin was being treated for prostate cancer, the fact that the president didn’t know as John Kirby said until yesterday that as well, where does this leave you?” CNN’s Poppy Harlow asked.
“This whole thing is a pretty remarkable story,” Sanger said. “You’ve got to set aside the prostate cancer issue from the movement of authorities now to deal with his central role. And you know in a White House that cares a lot about process, and in a military where it is absolutely critical that you understand who’s got command of decisions, weaponry, at various moments, this is a pretty astounding story. It was astounding that he was under full anesthetic from the account of his doctor in the initial operation on December 22, and if the Pentagon moved authorities to his deputy, they have not yet said so.”
“It’s also fascinating, he’s not a civilian or political leader of the defense department. He was a former high-ranking general in the military. That chain of command it’s so ingrained in them. David, do you feel like this peters out after a time now that they have started to become more forthcoming, that they’re doing the reviews, they’re doing the internal investigations, those are usually tried and true Washington mechanisms to try to put an end to something or does it continue to build?” co-host Phil Mattingly asked. (RELATED: Brian Kilmeade Loses It Over Lloyd Austin’s Disappearance)
“I think it’s gonna build and I think the reason it’s going to build is that we keep discovering things about this story Phil that we did not know. So for example, the account that the White House has given is that they did not know that he had prostate cancer even after the secretary spoke with President Biden over the weekend. That’s pretty remarkable,” Sanger continued.
“They have not been as I said before very clear about when it is that authority was given to Kathleen Hicks, his deputy. Who was making decisions at moments that as you mentioned before you are having incidents in the Red Sea and obviously concern in Lebanon. There are questions of nuclear command and control here. Obviously, there are other ways that it can go directly from the president to the nuclear commanders. But the secretary of defense is supposed to be in that loop as well.”
Biden is not considering firing Austin, a White House official told Daily Caller and that if Austin handed in a letter of resignation Biden would not accept, Politico reported.
The House Armed Services Committee launched a formal inquiry Tuesday into Austin’s failure to notify leadership, with Republicans expressing “grave concern” over the lack of clarity and communication breakdown.