Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin’s mysterious absence, explained

Even the most powerful people in the world are still humans with bodies and families. They sometimes need to take time off, whether for medical reasons, personal matters, or just to recharge. But the people who rely on them still need to know where they are.

That’s the issue at hand with Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin’s days-long disappearance last week. The secretary was hospitalized and placed in intensive care on January 1, but the public wasn’t informed until three days later — and, even more surprisingly, neither was Austin’s ultimate boss, President Joe Biden.

That’s a shockingly long time given Austin’s job as head of the $800 billion Defense Department, one whose command of the US military is second only to the president and who is sixth in line for presidential succession.