House Armed Services Committee Chairman Mike Rogers (R-AL) opened an inquiry into Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin on Tuesday over his failure to properly disclose his hospitalization and cancer diagnosis.
Rogers sent three separate letters on Tuesday. They went to Austin, Deputy Secretary of Defense Kathleen Hicks, and Austin’s chief of staff, Kelly Magsamen, and were sent in the hope of getting full transparency on what happened during Austin’s hospitalization.
“Everything from on-going counterterrorism operations to nuclear command and control relies on a clear understanding of the Secretary’s decision-making capacity,” Rogers wrote in the letter to Austin. “The Department is a robust institution, and it is designed to function under attack by our enemies, but it is not designed for a Secretary who conceals being incapacitated.”
Austin had undergone a medical procedure to get rid of prostate cancer, which was in an early stage, in December. But the high-ranking defense official was brought back to Walter Reed National Military Medical Center last week after experiencing pain related to the procedure. He was committed without notifying the public, Congress, or the White House.
In his letter to Hicks, Rogers claimed it was “mindboggling” that high-level officials, including President Joe Biden, did not know about Austin’s “operational competence.”
“It is vitally important for the President, high-level Administration officials, Department leadership, and Congress to be fully and properly informed of a department head’s ability to perform his appointed job and responsibility of leading the nation’s capability to defend itself,” Rogers wrote. “It is mindboggling that the Commander in Chief, was not aware of the location or operational competence of the Secretary of Defense.”
CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER
Rogers also slammed Magsamen for not notifying the proper officials at the time.
Democrats in the Senate are also considering launching an investigation into Austin, and other conservative lawmakers have called for the secretary to resign. However, the White House has stood by Austin, claiming the president remains “confident” in Austin’s ability to lead his department.
