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Questions mount over Lloyd Austin’s secret hospital stay. Here’s what we know

2024-01-10 00:00:00.0 独立报-美国政治原网页

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Both Republicans and Democrats in Congress are calling for an investigation into how the White House spent days unaware that defence secretary Lloyd Austin was in hospital at Walter Reed National Military Medical Centre in Bethesda, Maryland, following what the Pentagon has described as an elective medical procedure.

On Monday, representatives Mike Rogers and Adam Smith – the Alabama Republican and Washington Democrat who serve as chair and ranking member on the House Armed Services Committee – issued a rare joint statement calling for a probe into how Mr Austin, a retired four-star US Army general, all but disappeared for a week without anyone in the White House being any the wiser.

“Several questions remain unanswered including what the medical procedure and resulting complications were, what the Secretary’s current health status is, how and when the delegation of the Secretary’s responsibilities were made, and the reason for the delay in notification to the president and Congress,” they said. “Transparency is vitally important – secretary Austin must provide these additional details on his health and the decision-making process that occurred in the past week as soon as possible”.

Some Republicans, including former president Donald Trump, have called for Mr Austin to be sacked or step down, but President Joe Biden has expressed confidence in his top defence official and it’s unlikely that he will resign his post.

Here is what we know about the situation:

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The Pentagon adds new details about Austin's secretive hospital stay and the delay in telling Biden

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Mr Austin had elective surgery in late December

According to the defence department, the Pentagon boss underwent an unspecified surgical procedure on 22 December and subsequently returned home after being discharged from hospital the next day.

But on 1 January, the 70-year-old retired soldier was rushed by ambulance from his home to Walter Reed, which until 2011 was known as the National Naval Medical Centre, after he reported suffering from what the Pentagon press secretary, Air Force Major General Pat Ryder, described in a statement as “severe pain”.

Gen Ryder said that Mr Austin spent the next several days in the hospital’s intensive care unit, in part “due to hospital space considerations and privacy”.

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