US Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin’s hospitalisation kept secret even from deputy
- Fallout continues after the news that US Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin was quietly hospitalised
- Deputy Secretary of Defence Kathleen Hicks didn’t know about Austin’s condition when she took over
US Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin’s hospitalisation was kept far more secret than previously known, officials disclosed on Sunday, adding his deputy to a long list of people right up to US President Joe Biden who were kept in the dark for days.
Austin, who is 70, was admitted to Walter Reed National Military Medical Centre’s Intensive Care Unit on New Year’s Day after experiencing severe pain following a still-undisclosed elective medical procedure on December 22.
Austin sits just below Biden at the top of the chain of command of the US military, and his duties require him being available at a moment’s notice to respond to any national security crisis.
That includes always being ready to enter secure communications with other officials in the event of an incoming nuclear attack, something that would be difficult to do from an ICU bed.
Deputy Defence Secretary Kathleen Hicks assumed some of his operational duties on January 2, while she was on vacation in Puerto Rico, a US official said. But, Hicks was only told why Austin was unavailable on January 4, three officials told Reuters.
