Members of the House Armed Services Committee interrogated Defense Secretary Lloyd J. Austin III Thursday on the delay in notifying Congress and the president about his secretive hospitalization, in his first appearance before lawmakers since the episode initially roiled Capitol Hill in early January.
Lawmakers sought to pin down details on the timeline associated with the early days of Austin’s stay at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center and associated transfer of authorities to his deputy, as they pushed to understand why officials across government were left in the dark on Austin’s condition.
Austin acknowledged “a breakdown in notifications” occurred following his Jan. 1 hospital admittance but continually stressed that there was never a gap in the chain of command — despite his quiet absence from it between Jan. 2 and Jan. 5.
