US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin has undergone surgery for prostate cancer.
It took several days for the White House to be informed of Austin’s hospitalization.
The choice not to tell was reckless, says Joe Biden.
The 70-year-old Austin was already admitted to the Walter Reed military hospital on December 22 last year and underwent surgery. A week after the surgery, Austin suffered a urinary tract infection linked to the procedure, according to a statement from his doctor – and was re-hospitalised.
The White House was informed that Austin was in the hospital first on January 4, and the public and Congress did not learn until a day later.
President Joe Biden believes it was far too late.
Speaking to reporters in Pennsylvania on Friday, Biden said “yes” when asked if it was reckless for Austin not to tell him about his condition, the AP news agency reports.
The president replied, “I do,” when asked if he still had confidence in Austin’s leadership.
The anger of the journalists
The delayed announcement that the defense minister was hospitalized angered the journalists who cover the 70-year-old minister and the Pentagon. It is customary for such events to be immediately reported to the press corps. P
entagon’s press club has written a letter of protest to the Pentagon’s press affairs officer.
“At a time when the United States military has an important security function in Israel and in Ukraine, it is especially important for the American public to know the health status and decision-making capacity of our top defense officials,” the press club noted in an angry letter.