The Pentagon’s Office of the Inspector General says the Biden government’s Secretary of Defense, Lloyd Austin, “increased unnecessarily” U.S. national security risks during his clandestine hospitalizations in late 2023 and early 2024. In a report released on Wednesday that concluded a nearly year-long review of Sec. Austin’s conduct, the Inspector General determined that the Biden government defense chief was seriously impaired during several of the medical procedures and failed to transfer his duties to subordinates.
“The ability for the DoD and the government to operate seamlessly and the continuity of leadership under any and all circumstances are fundamental to our national security,” Department of Defense (D0D) Inspector General Robert Storch wrote in a statement regarding his office’s investigation and report. “Although we found no adverse consequences to DoD operations arising from how the hospitalizations we reviewed were handled, the risks to our national defense, including the command and control of the DoD’s critical national security operations, were increased unnecessarily.”
According to Storch’s report, Austin—during at least two procedures on January 6 and 8, 2024—was “moderately sedated” and told by medical professionals not to engage in any activities that required unimpaired decision-making abilities. Despite this warning from his doctors, Sec. Austin did not “did not transfer his authorities” to other DoD officials, nor did he notify his chief of staff or Deputy Secretary of Defense Kathleen Hicks of the procedures.
During Austin’s initial hospitalization—following complications during a prostate cancer surgical procedure—the Biden White House was unaware its own Secretary of Defense was medically incapacitated for several days. Subsequently, the Secretary of Defense was hospitalized several more times due to following procedures and complications.
During this period, two U.S. Navy Seals died in an operation off the coast of Yemen that was greenlit by the Pentagon.
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