Among the most reclusive Pentagon commanders in recent memory is Lloyd Austin, the secretary of defence. Now that’s causing him a lot of trouble.
A controversy has arisen, leaving senior officials in the White House and the Pentagon angry and confused, over Austin’s decision not to notify his top advisers, congressional leaders, and even President Joe Biden about his hospitalisation last week as a result of difficulties from a medical operation. Right away, some Republicans demanded investigations or perhaps Austin’s dismissal or disciplinary action.
According to a senior defence department official who spoke with AWN on Sunday, Austin’s condition was not relayed to Joint Chiefs Chair Gen. C.Q. Brown until Tuesday, the day following his hospitalisation. According to a second senior DOD official who spoke after CNN broke the story, not even Deputy Defence Secretary Kathleen Hicks, who took over some of his responsibilities while he was in the hospital, knew his location until Thursday.
The decision to keep details of the treatment confidential apparently backfired when things didn’t go according to plan, according to a senior U.S. official. “He’s incredibly devoted and committed. It’s all quite strange.
According to current and former US officials who have collaborated with Austin, he is notoriously shy, preferring to avoid the limelight and maintaining a small circle of trusted advisors throughout his extensive military career. He rarely addressed the press as the four-star general in charge of U.S. Central Command during the Iraq withdrawal. Unlike his predecessors, he limits the number of journalists he brings along on official trips as defence secretary. Although he frequently briefs the press while travelling, he has abstained from holding a press conference at the Pentagon since last July.
Eight current U.S. officials and one retired senior DOD official were interviewed for this piece; in order to protect their privacy, most of them agreed to disclose their internal views without being named.
Regarding issues stemming from a recent elective medical treatment, Austin was admitted to Walter Reed National Military Medical Centre on the evening of January 1st. However, he has chosen not to divulge any further information. His hospitalisation went unnoticed by even the White House for three days. Only two hours before Friday night’s public announcement, officials from the Department of Defence informed senior Pentagon civilians and military leaders. The announcement was delayed until fifteen minutes before Congress was notified.
According to a senior administration official, the first conversation between Austin and Biden following the secretary’s hospitalisation was on Saturday night. This occurred despite the fact that tensions in the Middle East have escalated and the conflict in Ukraine has grown in severity. The discussion followed initial claims from AWN that the head of the Pentagon waited three days before notifying the White House of his inability to serve.
According to a senior administration official, Biden sent his best wishes for Austin’s health and expressed his eagerness to see the secretary return to work soon. According to Maj. Gen. Pat Ryder, a spokesperson for the Department of Defence, Austin is not contemplating retiring from his position, even though he has been criticised by Republicans, administration officials, and the media. Austin returned to his full responsibilities on Friday.
Although Austin’s position seems secure for the time being, there is mounting pressure on Capitol Hill and in the administration to fire someone.
According to the second senior DOD official, “this is fundamental, sort of submissive behaviour, 101.” The secretary of defence was subordinate to the commander in chief, yet he failed in his role.
Republican Senate Armed Services Committee chair and senator from Mississippi, Roger Wicker, condemned the secrecy surrounding Austin’s medical stay, describing it as a “shocking defiance of the law.” According to CNN’s interview with former vice president Mike Pence, Austin’s behaviour constituted a “dereliction of duty.”
To this point, Democrats have either spoken out in support of the secretary or chosen not to speak. “I don’t think it is a dereliction of duty,” Rep. Jim Clyburn (D-S.C.) stated on CNN. His character is unwavering. A superb defence secretary, he is. Throughout his time in the service, he has been an outstanding citizen.
Austin has had a strong working relationship with senior White House officials. Military leaders were opposed to Biden’s order to withdraw from Afghanistan, but Austin advised them not to publicly criticise the decision and to follow through with it. Additionally, some senior administration officials attribute the Western countries’ delivery of advanced weapons to Kyiv to Austin, following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
Unlike other former defence chiefs, Austin refrains from publicly arguing and instead expresses his views in private meetings, which is well-received by the White House and Vice President Biden in particular. Biden is still furious with former military chiefs and Pentagon officials who publicly bemoaned Obama’s decision not to deploy sufficient forces to Afghanistan to fight al-Qaeda. The Pentagon’s leaks of evaluations and limits on the White House’s decision-making space, according to Biden, are contributing factors to Obama’s decision to deploy thousands of troops to the battle on terrorism.
When it comes to sensitive information, “you’ve pretty much got it locked down” thanks to Austin’s secrecy and dedication, according to the senior DOD source. However, this can be problematic since it reduces the secretary’s access to “the full picture spectrum of inputs” necessary for him to give the president sound counsel.
“He’s a cypher,” remarked the senior DOD official. “His incredibly low admissions rate has both positive and negative aspects.”
A senior fellow at the USC Annenberg Centre on Communication Leadership & Policy and a former CNN Pentagon correspondent, Barbara Starr, said that the Biden administration’s aim to shift attention from the Pentagon to the State Department and the National Security Council—on diplomacy versus military action—fitted well with Austin’s desire to keep a low profile.
A secretary of defence who could steal the show wasn’t something they were looking for. According to Starr, the current situation is highly ironic because Austin has seemingly created a crisis that could grab headlines for the White House.
“How his medical situation unfolded and why those decisions were made over that three-day period is something we don’t know,” she continued. “Regardless of the specifics, Lloyd Austin has created a political problem for the president by doing what no Cabinet secretary wants to do.”
On the road with reporters, other cabinet secretaries will often strike up conversations with them, whether it’s on or off the record. This gives reporters a glimpse into the officials’ minds and allows them to develop relationships with the journalists.
For a long time, Austin avoided the limelight.
During a public speaking engagement at the Atlantic Council think tank in 2014, the then-general reportedly asked that the press not record him. Despite the presence of reporters, Austin had anticipated what he called a “scholarly discussion” during his conversation with CNN’s Jake Tapper about the fight against ISIS. In a surprising departure from a prior arrangement between the think tank and Central Command, Austin’s team informed the organisers of the Atlantic Council conference the day before that he would not make an appearance if there were cameras there.
Another American insider said that Austin’s strong dislike of being in the spotlight stems from a heated exchange he had with the late Senator John McCain in 2015. While the Islamic State was growing its influence, McCain criticised Austin in a Senate Armed Services Committee hearing for supporting Obama’s strategy to battle the group.
“So, basically, you’re telling us that everything is fine,” McCain said with a hint of sarcasm, adding that he had never heard evidence that was “so divorced from reality.”
According to others, Austin’s reserved nature has never been an asset. Even in meetings with high-ranking Pentagon officials, Austin hardly deviates from the agenda.
“In every meeting, in everything, he says nothing,” remarked a senior Defence Department official who had worked closely with Austin in various elevated positions. “He always maintains his independence and you can never guess his thoughts in a wide range of meetings.”
