Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., told Newsmax on Tuesday Congress needs to find the underlying cause of the secrecy regarding Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin's hospitalization last week after complications resulting from a procedure to treat prostate cancer.
"That is inexcusable," Paul told "Eric Bolling The Balance." "They're blaming it on an underling saying an underling forgot to tell them. I don't know the truth of the matter, but somebody's got to get to it because we can't allow something like this to happen again."
Doctors at Walter Reed Army Medical Center revealed Tuesday that Austin, 70, had a minimally invasive surgical procedure on Dec. 22 and went home the next day. But Austin was taken to Walter Reed on New Year's Day after experiencing nausea with severe abdominal, hip, and leg pain, and was put in intensive care with a urinary tract infection. He was released from intensive care Monday but remains hospitalized.
Austin's second in command, Deputy Secretary of Defense Kathleen Hicks, President Joe Biden, and other senior White House officials were kept in the dark about Austin's condition, prompting lawmakers from both parties to voice concern about the Pentagon's lack of transparency.
"There's a real problem and obviously this is going to have to be looked at because this is a big danger and nobody wants anything accidentally to begin a war either, whether somebody because they're not in the right place that the proper sequences aren't followed," said Paul, ranking member of the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee. "Not only in defense of our country but also, it's important that an accident not occur, as well.
"I hope he does well with his treatment and with the complication. However, the second [hospital stay], I don't think you really have to reveal to everybody, what kind of surgery you're having, but it should have been revealed, and he should have placed the duties or at least informed his second in command because it sounds like he was pretty sick at one point in time, and hopefully he's getting better."
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Michael Katz ✉
Michael Katz is a Newsmax reporter with more than 30 years of experience reporting and editing on news, culture, and politics.
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