Pentagon Watchdog Finds Austin Hospitalization Scandal Increased Security Risks

Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin's hospitalization scandal last year increased national security risks and should have been handled better, according to a new report from the Pentagon's watchdog.

The Office of the Inspector General for the Department of Defense (OIG), in its 188-page report, criticized Austin's team for failing to properly notify key officials and transfer the authorities of his job. The OIG also knocked Austin and his staff for how they handled the hospitalization for surgeries or complications related to prostate cancer in December 2023 and early 2024.

Last January, Austin's hospitalization and failure to properly notify the White House and Congress of the treatment sparked controversy and led to a congressional hearing and a Biden administration review of Cabinet secretary notifications to the president.

Inspector General Robert Storch said 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."

"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," Storch said in a statement.

"While the DoD has taken some important steps to address these concerns, additional improvements are required to ensure the DoD’s readiness, transparency, and the fulfillment of its mission," he continued. "These improvements are not just an administrative necessity; they are an operational and national security imperative."

The Pentagon disputed that the report had found any major errors in how the hospitalization was handled.

A senior defense official told reporters Austin "made a mistake, he apologized and he committed to improving transparency and processes moving forward, which the department has already done over the past year to ensure it doesn't happen again."

"There was no scandal, there was no cover up, and in fact, the report found that at no time was the secretary incapacitated while carrying out his duties," the official said. "The report also found that at no time was there a break in command and control, and at no time were there any gaps in authorities or operational impacts.

They added that "at every moment, either the secretary of Defense or the deputy secretary of Defense was fully prepared to support the president as commander in chief and had access to the necessary unclassified and classified communication systems."

The defense official, however, acknowledged a "shortfall" in the notification process and said Austin should have notified President Biden of his cancer diagnosis sooner. Biden did not know about the Defense secretary's early January hospitalization until three days later and the cancer diagnosis until after the procedure.

The OIG report suggested 20 recommendations for the Pentagon to implement, many of which the defense official said they were already working on. The recommendations include widening those involved in the decision-making process and enhancing the information flow in the department and to other stakeholders.

The watchdog added that some of the directives the Pentagon has already implemented are insufficient and do not account for situations like a hospitalization or how medical personnel and medications could be involved in transfer authorities.

The Pentagon conducted its own 30-day review last year that largely found no fault among the staff for the hospitalization scandal. Austin also held a press conference where he apologized for not being transparent and attributed it to his need for privacy.

Austin was first hospitalized in December 2023 for a surgery related to the cancer, and he had to transfer his authorities to Deputy Secretary of Defense Kathleen Hicks for 36 hours.

He was then hospitalized again on Jan. 1, 2024, from pain related to the surgery, and Austin transferred his authorities to Hicks from the afternoon of Jan. 2-5, but failed to communicate to her that she was acting secretary of defense, according to the OIG report.

Austin remained in the hospital until Jan. 15 but maintained his authorities. The report said Austin should have considered transferring his authorities on Jan. 6 and Jan. 8, during two medical procedures in which he was moderately sedated.

The Defense chief also failed to transfer his authorities until after he was hospitalized in another medical procedure to address severe pain on Feb. 11, according to the OIG, which said he should have transferred them hours earlier.

And when an ambulance took Austin to the hospital on Jan. 1, 2024, the secretary directed his personal staff to ensure the ambulance did not use lights and sirens and that they not notify anyone about the situation, according to the OIG.

The December and early January notifications were also not made in a timely manner to the comptroller general, Congress or White House, OIG said.

For the report, the watchdog looked through reams of communications and messages and interviewed 44 witnesses.