Democrats Baffled by Lloyd Austin's Disappearance

Some prominent Democrats have expressed confusion and concern after it was reported that top officials had not been made immediately aware of Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin's recent hospitalization.

Austin has held the top position at the Department of Defense (DOD) since January 2021, having been appointed to the role by President Joe Biden at the start of his term. On Friday, Pentagon press secretary Major General Pat Ryder confirmed that Austin had been admitted to Walter Reed National Military Medical Center for treatment on January 1 after complications arose from an elective surgery. Reuters later reported that Biden and several other top government officials had only been made aware of the situation on Thursday, several days after the secretary was admitted, raising alarm amongst many over the situation.

In response to an inquiry from Newsweek, the Pentagon on Monday afternoon highlighted its past statements about Austin's hospitalization.

"Secretary of Defense Lloyd J. Austin III remains hospitalized at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center but is recovering well and in good spirits," Ryder wrote in a Sunday statement. "Since resuming his duties on Friday evening, the Secretary has received operational updates and has provided necessary guidance to his team. He has full access to required secure communications capabilities and continues to monitor DoD's day-to-day operations worldwide. The Secretary spoke to President Biden yesterday. He has also been in contact with Deputy Secretary of Defense Kathleen Hicks, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. CQ Brown, Jr. and his senior staff."

However, those voicing concern now about the situation are several prominent Democrats. On Monday, Robert Reich, who served as Labor Secretary under former President Bill Clinton and worked as an economic transition adviser to former President Barack Obama, published a piece on his personal Substack blog titled, "Where in the world is Lloyd?" In it, he expressed measured concern over the handling of the situation, particularly with heated conflicts ongoing in Ukraine and in Gaza.

"There's supposed to be a system for knowing where the secretary of defense is at all times," Reich wrote. "When I was secretary of labor (hardly as important an office as defense secretary) my staff reported daily to the White House on my schedule and whereabouts. It would have been impossible if not unthinkable for me to be hospitalized for three days without the White House knowing."

Reich did, however, note that Austin is "a private person, disinclined to impose his personal issues on anyone else" and that "the Pentagon seems to have functioned fine without knowing where he was." Further, he discussed former President Donald Trump's recent claims about his intentions should he be reelected in November, with reports suggesting that he intends to use military force to quash protests against him. Considering the role that militaries have played in the histories of dictatorships, Reich wrote that, "perhaps we should be grateful that we live in a society where a secretary of defense can go missing for three and a half days, and no one notices."

Elsewhere, David Axelrod, best known as the chief strategist for former President Obama's campaigns, called the situation "mind-boggling" in a post to X, formerly Twitter, on Sunday, while sharing a CNN story about Lloyd's hospitalization.

In her own appearance on CNN on Monday, Representative Abigail Spanberger, a Virginia Democrat and member of the House Intelligence Committee, said that Lloyd's handling of the situation was not appropriate, but commended him for "taking ownership" of it and further suggested that "important conversation" needs to be had following his return.

"I think that once [Lloyd] has fully returned to the job, a conversation as to why this decision was made is one that in an after-action report and understanding is an important conversation to have," the congresswoman said. "But I do hope that every person in the cabinet recognizes that this was not an appropriate step. Not an appropriate way to handle what was his hospitalization. And hopefully, there will be greater transparency, at least within the administration."