Senator Roger Wicker criticized the Pentagon for not disclosing Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin’s hospitalization promptly, calling it a “shocking defiance of the law.”
Wicker demanded an immediate briefing from the administration and expressed concerns about the lack of transparency.
He highlighted the administration’s failure to inform the public about various significant events, raising questions about the notification process and the decision-making behind the delayed disclosure. (Trending: Chilling Arrest Footage of Trump Co-Defendant Provides Glimpse Into Jack Smith Probe)
Wicker emphasized that the lack of information reflects poorly on an administration that disregards Congressional authority on national defense matters.
“I am glad to hear Secretary Austin is in improved condition and I wish him a speedy recovery. However, the fact remains that the Department of Defense deliberately withheld the Secretary of Defense’s medical condition for days,” Wicker said.
“That is unacceptable. We are learning more every hour about the Department’s shocking defiance of the law.”
“When one of the country’s two National Command Authorities is unable to perform their duties, military families, Members of Congress, and the American public deserve to know the full extent of the circumstances,” he added.
“Members must be briefed on a full accounting of the facts immediately.”
“Worryingly, we now have more questions than answers,” Wicker said.
“Why was the notification process under 5 U.S.C. 3349 not followed and who made the determination not to follow it? What role did the Secretary of Defense’s staff play? When exactly was the President notified? What justification did the Department have for withholding information from the National Security Council? To what extent was the Secretary incapacitated by his surgery?” he pressed.
“The very fact that we have none of this information is an indictment of an administration which consistently holds Congressional authority on national defense matters in contempt.”
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