US Republicans blast Lloyd Austin over cancer secrecy
Republican lawmakers slammed US Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin at a hearing on Feb 29 for failing to disclose his prostrate cancer diagnosis, his surgery and his subsequent hospitalisation to President Joe Biden or even his deputy at the Pentagon.
Mr Austin, with support from Democrats on the House of Representatives Armed Services Committee, sought to dispel accusations that his secrecy jeopardised national security or that his unnoticed absence demonstrated his lack of influence in Mr Biden’s Democratic administration.
But Republicans, who are seeking to defeat Mr Biden in the presidential election in November, questioned how the US president could go for days without discovering Mr Austin was hospitalised.
“I find it very concerning that the secretary could be hospitalised for three days without anyone else in the administration even noticing,” said Representative Mike Rogers, the committee’s chairman. “That suggests Secretary Austin’s advice is not sought or heeded in the White House, even while military operations were ongoing in the Middle East.”
Conflicting claims as dozens killed waiting for aid in Gaza
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