President Joe Biden was not aware for days that Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin was hospitalized, a source familiar with the matter told CNN.
National security adviser Jake Sullivan ultimately informed Biden late Thursday afternoon, soon after Sullivan himself learned Austin had been hospitalized, the source said. Austin was admitted to the hospital on New Year’s Day due to complications from an elective surgery.
The Pentagon announced the hospitalization Friday. Austin issued his first statement Saturday, five days after being admitted to the hospital, saying he could have done a “better job” of notifying the public.
Austin offered no details about his condition, nor did he say exactly why he was hospitalized on January 1. As of Saturday evening, he remained in the hospital, according to a defense official.
On Saturday evening, Austin thanked 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, which totaled seven sentences. But he did not apologize for failing to notify the public or the press in a timely fashion. Senior administration and military officials who are hospitalized normally put out a statement within 24 hours.
On New Year’s Day – the day Austin was admitted to the hospital – the defense secretary was among Biden’s top national security officials who participated in a call with the president to discuss, among other things, the escalating situation in the Red Sea, a source familiar with the call told CNN.
It was not clear whether the call – which was said to have taken place in the morning – was before or after Austin was hospitalized. But the secretary…
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