Pentagon inspector general to review controversial hospitalization of US Secretary of Defense.
This will be the first independent and non-partisan inquiry into the case of Lloyd Austin, who was diagnosed with prostate cancer, hospitalized, and admitted to a psychiatric hospital.
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The office of the inspector general of the United States Department of Defense said on Thursday (11) that it will begin a review this month of the way in which the hospitalization of Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin was conducted.
This will be the first independent and nonpartisan inquiry into the case of Austin, who was diagnosed with prostate cancer, hospitalized, and admitted to a psychiatric hospital. Both the Pentagon and Republican lawmakers have announced their own analyses.
Austin, 70, has been hospitalized at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center since January 1st, but this information was kept secret by the Pentagon from the public, the White House, and Congress for most of the past week, generating a strong reaction from the political world.
President Joe Biden's administration is struggling to quell the political uproar over revelations that the president, who is running for reelection, was unaware of his Secretary of Defense's hospitalization on January 1st until January 4th.
Austin is just below Biden at the top of the U.S. military chain of command. His duties require him to be ready to respond to any national security crisis.
This includes always being ready to establish secure communication with other authorities in the event of a nuclear attack, which can be difficult in an intensive care unit.
(Reporting by Idrees Ali, Phil Stewart, Doina Chiacu and Katharine Jackson)