The White House on Monday said that there are no plans to remove Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin from his role after the Pentagon chief left President Joe Biden and senior officials in the dark for days about his hospitalization. 

“There are no plans for anything other than for Secretary Austin to stay in the job and continuing the leadership that he has been demonstrating,“ National Security Council Coordinator for Strategic Communications John Kirby told reporters on Monday, responding to a question about whether the president was considering removing Austin from his role. 

What You Need To Know

  • The White House on Monday said there are "no plans" for Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin to not remain in his position 
  • Austin left the president and senior officials in the dark for days about his continued stay in the intensive care unit 
  • The White House added Austin participated in a conference call with President Joe Biden and other officials on the morning of Jan. 1, the day the Pentagon says Austin started his stay in intensive care

Austin was placed in intensive care at the Walter Reed National Military Medical Center on New Year’s Day after he started experiencing severe pain following a medical procedure on Dec. 22, according to the Pentagon. 

Biden and White House National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan were not informed of the defense secretary’s hospital stay until Thursday of last week, something Kirby emphasized again. As of Monday, Kirby said Austin had resumed all of his authorities but was carrying out his duties from the hospital. 

Kirby declined to say whether Biden has been informed about details of the secretary’s current health condition or the medical procedure that led to the stay in intensive care, which has not been publicly disclosed. Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre noted the president spoke to Austin on Saturday. 

Asked if there was any communication between the defense secretary and White House officials between Jan. 1, when Austin was admitted to Walter Reed and Jan. 4, when the White House was informed of the situation, Kirby noted Austin participated in a conference call with the president and others on the day he went to the hospital. 

“On the morning of the 1st of January, the secretary as well as Secretary [of State Antony] Blinken, Jake [Sullivan], other relevant officials did have a secure conference call with the president, this was regarding operations in the Middle East,” Kirby said. 

The public wasn't informed of the defense secretary’s situation until Friday evening; Austin took responsibility for the delay in notification in a statement issued on Saturday. 

"I recognize I could have done a better job ensuring the public was appropriately informed. I commit to doing better," he said, acknowledging the concerns about transparency. "But this is important to say: this was my medical procedure, and I take full responsibility for my decisions about disclosure."

“The president respects the fact that Secretary Austin took responsibility for the lack of transparency,” Kirby said. “He also respects the amazing job he has done as defense secretary and how he’s handled multiple crises over the last almost three years now.” 

Austin’s hospitalization and delay in informing the White House comes at a critical juncture with two wars raging overseas, between Israel and Hamas and between Russia and Ukraine, as well as concerns that the former conflict may expand. 

A number of Republicans expressed criticism about Austin's lack of transparency, with former Vice President Mike Pence branding it a "dereliction of duty," particularly amid the wars in Ukraine and Gaza.

"I wish the secretary of defense well, and I'm pleased he's making a full recovery," Pence said on CNN's "State of the Union" on Sunday. "But ... the handling of this by the secretary of defense is totally unacceptable, and I believe the American people have a right to know about his medical condition about the reasons for it."

Mississippi Sen. Roger Wicker, the top Republican on the Senate Armed Services Committee, called the situation "unacceptable" in a statement, adding that it "erodes trust in the Biden administration."

"I am glad to hear Secretary Austin is in improved condition and I wish him a speedy recovery," Wicker said. However, the fact remains that the Department of Defense deliberately withheld the Secretary of Defense’s medical condition for days. That is unacceptable."

Kirby added there is an “expectation” that a cabinet official’s hospitalization would be notified “up the chain of command.” 

“We’ll take a look at process and procedure here and try to learn from this experience and if there are some changes that need to be made in terms of process and procedure, we’ll do that,” he said.”