Deputy defense secretary was not told Austin had been hospitalized when she assumed his duties

By Natasha Bertrand, Oren Liebermann and Haley Britzky, CNN

(CNN) — When the deputy secretary of defense began assuming some of Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin’s responsibilities on January 2, not even she knew that it was because Austin was hospitalized, two defense officials told CNN.

Deputy Secretary of Defense Kathleen Hicks, the Pentagon’s number two leader, was among the senior leaders kept in the dark about Austin’s true whereabouts until Thursday, three days after the secretary checked into Walter Reed medical center following complications from an elective surgery. Not even the president was aware of Austin’s hospitalization until three days into his stay there, CNN previously reported.

The revelation that not even Hicks knew that Austin was hospitalized is sure to add to questions swirling within the administration about why his status was kept secret, not only from the public but from senior national security officials and the White House.

Pentagon Press Secretary Maj. Gen. Pat Ryder told CNN on Sunday that Austin transferred “certain operational responsibilities that require constant secure communications capabilities” to Hicks on January 2, the day after he was admitted to Walter Reed. Throughout last week, Hicks made “some routine operational and management decisions” for the Pentagon and was authorized to support the president.

But Hicks, who was on vacation in Puerto Rico at the time, was not informed of Austin’s hospitalization until the afternoon of January 4, the defense officials said. Ryder told CNN that it is “not uncommon” for the secretary to transfer certain responsibilities without providing a specific reason as to why such a transfer is needed.

At that point, Hicks began to make contingency plans to return to Washington, DC, on Friday, the official said. But because Austin was expected to return to his full duties—albeit from the hospital—on Friday, she decided to stay in Puerto Rico to ensure continuity of communications.

“There are all of these people around the secretary at all times, who manage him and help him on a day-to-day basis, and no one had the wherewithal to even tell the White House?” said one Pentagon official. “I’m surprised no one is using the word ‘cover-up’ yet.”

Ryder told CNN on Sunday that Austin “has no plans to resign” over the episode, which has left many Pentagon officials deeply frustrated and questioning why they were kept in the dark. The White House insists that President Joe Biden—who did not learn that Austin was hospitalized until three days after the secretary checked into Walter Reed medical center on January 1—still has full confidence in Austin. The two had a “cordial” conversation on Saturday evening, the White House said, in which Biden told Austin he looked forward to having him back at work

But it is still not clear why Austin and his team tried so hard to keep his condition a secret. Austin’s chief of staff, Kelly Magsamen, emailed top military officials on Friday informing them of Austin’s condition, officials said, four days into Austin’s hospital stay and just hours before the Pentagon revealed the hospitalization to the wider public.

Some Pentagon officials were told last Tuesday, a day after Austin entered the hospital, that the secretary would be on leave for the week. But that was far from the whole story, defense officials told CNN. Many assumed he was either working from home or simply taking an extended vacation.

In reality, Austin was in the intensive care unit at Walter Reed suffering from complications following his surgery, defense officials said.

It is not clear whether Austin was ever unconscious or incapacitated. But he was alert and tracking a military strike on January 4 in Baghdad, which killed the commander of a pro-Iran militia, a defense official said. That strike had also been pre-authorized, before Austin entered the hospital on January 1, CNN previously reported.

As of Saturday evening, Austin remained in the hospital, the defense official said. But he released a statement praising the “amazing” staff at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center for the care he has received and said he is “on the mend” and looking forward to returning to the Pentagon.

He acknowledged “media concerns about transparency” and said “I commit to doing better” in the statement.

The-CNN-Wire
™ & © 2024 Cable News Network, Inc., a Warner Bros. Discovery Company. All rights reserved.