Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin pauses while speaking during a media briefing at the Pentagon Nov. 17, 2021, in Washington, D.C. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)
Evidence also allegedly indicates that, on Jan. 1, 2024, when he was taken to Walter Reed National Military Medical Center for "severe" pain, Austin requested the ambulance not use lights or sirens. Additionally, according to the report, Austin told his personal security officer not to notify anyone about the incident.
"No one on Secretary Austin’s staff knew the seriousness of his condition, including when his condition became worse and he was transferred to the Surgical Intensive Care Unit on January 2," OIG noted in its report.
On Jan. 3, 2024, Austin’s chief of staff, Kelly Magsamen, texted the secretary’s junior military assistant, who was in the hospital with the secretary at the time. In her message, Magsamen urged the secretary to be more forthcoming about his condition.
"I wish [Secretary Austin] were a normal person but he’s the [Secretary of Defense]. We have a big institutional responsibility. He can’t just go totally dark on his staff. … Please pass to him that we can’t keep his hospitalization a secret forever. It’s kind of big deal for him to be in the [SICU]. And I’m worried sick," Magsamen wrote, according to the OIG report.
Defense Secretary Lloyd J. Austin testifies during a House Armed Services Committee hearing about his recent hospitalization and communication issues with President Biden in Rayburn Building Feb. 29, 2024. (Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images)
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Austin acknowledged his office’s shortcomings in a February 2024 press conference shortly after the hospitalizations became public.
"I want to be crystal clear. We did not handle this right, and I did not handle this right," Austin said at the time regarding his previous hospitalization. "I should have told the president about my cancer diagnosis. I should have also told my team and the American public, and I take full responsibility. I apologize to my teammates and to the American people."
Liz Friden contributed to this report.
Rachel Wolf is a breaking news writer for Fox News Digital and FOX Business.
https://www.foxnews.com/politics/sec-austins-secret-hospitalizations-unnecessarily-increased-us-national-security-risks-report-finds