Secrecy surrounding the defense secretary’s hospitalization has put the White House on the defensive

WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden’s administration pledged from Day One to restore truth and transparency to the federal government — but now it’s facing a maelstrom of criticism and credibility questions after Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin’s hospitalization was kept secret for days, even from the White House. “We all recognize that this didn’t unfold the way it should have — on so many levels.” There is no government-wide policy in the Biden administration on how absences of Cabinet officials should be handled, according to people familiar with the matter, although there is a general expectation that the White House should be made aware of such circumstances. “It’s highly unusual for any Cabinet secretary not to notify the president, the White House chief of staff, or the NSC of any absence, especially a medical one,” he added. Mississippi Sen. Roger Wicker, the top Republican on the Senate Armed Services Committee, said Tuesday that Austin’s lack of disclosure to key lawmakers about his condition and transferring of duties to Deputy Defense Secretary Kathleen Hicks was a “clear violation of the law.” Congress was not told until Friday afternoon of Austin’s hospitalization, the Pentagon has said, a day after Biden and national security adviser Jake Sullivan were informed.