The Lloyd Austin incident sheds harsh light on Biden’s team

In the midst of an international crisis involving the US military, the top civilian leader of the Pentagon was hospitalized for days without the commander in chief knowing his whereabouts.

The absence of Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin is a surprising development that puts a harsh light on President Joe Biden’s national security team. And the odd thing is that there may be very little Biden can do about it, practically speaking.

For the past week, Austin has been at the Walter Reed National Military Medical Center outside of Washington DC, where he was admitted on Monday, January 1, after he experienced “severe pain” following an elective surgery on December 22.  For at least part of his time in the hospital, Austin was in the intensive care unit. The White House wasn’t informed until Thursday of Austin’s condition, nor were senior Pentagon officials like Austin’s number two at the Pentagon, Kathleen Hicks.