Routine Procedure
Secretary of Defense and retired Four Star General Lloyd Austin had a “routine medical procedure” last Monday. Something obviously went wrong, and he ended up in the Intensive Care Unit at Walter Reed military hospital. The White House wasn’t notified until Thursday, in fact, even the Pentagon wasn’t aware that their commander was out of commission. Rumor was that he was “on vacation”. And Congress wasn’t told until Friday, when Austin resumed his duties. He was still in a hospital bed. Adding it all up, for three days, a key member of the United States nuclear command and control was out of the loop, and no one else knew.
Well, not quite no one else. The next-in-line, Deputy Secretary Kathleen Hicks, was aware and kept up to speed. But she was in Puerto Rico, with a whole communications net established to keep her informed. Meanwhile, the President of the United States was not informed that part of his command decision team, sixth in line for the Presidency itself, was unavailable, hospitalized in the ICU, for days.
So let’s start with this. Who has a “routine medical procedure” on New Year’s Day? There are only two possible reasons. One, it was an emergency “routine medical procedure”, one that couldn’t wait for a “regular” medical day. Or two, it was a secret, done on a holiday, while reporters and many staff members are home watching parades and football games. The goal may have been, slip Austin into Walter Reed and then back home before any noticed.
Responsibility
Secretary Austin surely has a right to some privacy. We, the public, don’t need to know whether this was a colonoscopy that went wrong or an emergency cardiac catheterization that turned into a heart bypass. But the President of the United States should. In fact, General Austin (or his staff) showed grave disrespect for the office of the Presidency by not informing him. We don’t know which, whether it was the Secretary himself, or whether his incapacity left it to a staff decision. But someone made a clear “call”: don’t tell the press, the Pentagon, or the White House.
Heads need to roll: not a medical procedure, but as a career consequence.
The United States is long past the time that President Woodrow Wilson could have a stroke, and disappear into the White House for months. First Lady Edith Wilson made command decisions, leaving her disabled husband out of the process and acting in his name. That wasn’t good in 1920, when the United States was deeply involved in debating whether to join the League of Nations or not. But in today’s world, with affairs moving at breakneck speed in the Middle East, Ukraine, potentially Taiwan and everywhere else around the world; Americans need to have confidence in our command decision process.
And there’s nothing that can shake that confidence more, than a key member being hospitalized and unable to perform his duties without notifying the President.
Politics
Sure it’s a political football. Republicans in the Senate are already calling for action:
“The Secretary of Defense is the key link in the chain of command between the president and the uniformed military, including the nuclear chain of command, when the weightiest of decisions must be made in minutes,” said (Senator Tom) Cotton in a statement, adding that if Austin didn’t immediately tell the White House, “there must be consequences for this shocking breakdown” (AP).
And certainly this marked disrespect for the President will become part of the fabric of the 2024 Presidential race: even his own Cabinet members don’t honor him, why should the uniformed military?
Consequences
But it’s more important than just politics. I can’t tell you any other issue where Senator Cotton and I agree, but here’s one. It only required one phone call, to White House Chief of Staff Jeff Zients. The President, and the command structure, needs to know who’s in charge; and who’s available for emergency consultation. There are lots of scenarios where the President says, “Get me the Secretary of Defense”, and the entire process is temporarily derailed as the Deputy has to take the call. Tom Cotton is right, it’s unacceptable.
It’s likely that we will soon learn a lot about Kelly Magsamen, General Austin’s Chief of Staff. If there’s a head to be sacrificed, it’s hers that’s most likely to be the first. Everyone has the right to medical privacy. But assuming high responsibilities in government requires acceptance of some loss of that privilege, in return for the trust of the American people. They can have privacy, but Americans still need transparency. We need to know that those in charge, are actually there. It’s the only way to keep the conspiracy nuts at bay, and more importantly, to keep the Nation’s trust.
