WASHINGTON (Sputnik) – US House Armed Services Chairman Mike Rogers in a letter demanded US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin appear before the panel for a testimony to discuss the lack of transparency of his hospitalization earlier this month.
“Your unwillingness to provide candid and complete answers necessitates calling a Full Committee hearing on February 14, 2024, where the Committee expects to hear your direct testimony regarding decisions made to withhold information from the President, Congress, and the American people,” Rogers said in the letter on Thursday.
The chairman clarified that although Austin did respond to some of his questions on this matter, several others were not addressed. Rogers highlighted that he was “alarmed” that Austin refused to answer whether he instructed his staff to not inform President Joe Biden or anyone else about his hospitalization.
The Congressman asked Austin to provide a written response to additional questions about his failure to disclose his hospitalization by February 7.
Austin was hospitalized on January 1 due to an infection, following prostate cancer surgery in late December and has not been in office since then.
The US Defense Department failed to communicate Austin’s hospitalization to the White House for several days, prompting a Pentagon Inspector General probe and bipartisan calls for him to leave his leadership position.
