Defense Secretary Austin hospitalized following surgery complications

Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin is recovering after complications following elective surgery, and was admitted into a Washington D.C. hospital on Monday, the Pentagon said. 

"On the evening of January 1, Secretary of Defense Lloyd J. Austin III was admitted to Walter Reed National Military Medical Center for complications following a recent elective medical procedure," Pentagon press secretary Maj. Gen. Pat Ryder Pentagon said. 

"He is recovering well and is expecting to resume his full duties today," Ryder added.

Ryder said that Austin was hospitalized following the surgery, but not immediately after.

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U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin (AP Photo/Danial Hakim/File)

The news about Austin, who has been hospitalized since Monday, was shared with the media on Friday.

Ryder said that the hospitalization was kept from the press due to "medical and personal privacy issues."

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"This has been an evolving situation in which we [have] had to consider a number of factors including medical and personal privacy issues," Ryder told Fox News. "We are now in a position to update you."

It wasn’t immediately clear what the elective medical procedure was or the date of the surgery.

The Pentagon in Arlington, Va.  (Alex Wong/Getty Images/File)

The Pentagon Press Association (PPA), an organization that serves as the voice of journalists covering the Pentagon, sent a letter from its board of directors to Secretary Austin's personnel on Friday evening.

The letter, which was addressed to Ryder and Assistant to the Secretary of Defense for Public Affairs Chris Meagher, shared the organizations' "significant concern" about the Defense Department's delayed disclosure of Austin's hospitalization. 

"We are writing to express our significant concerns about the Defense Department’s failure to notify the public and the media about Secretary Lloyd Austin’s current hospitalization," the letter said. "The fact that he has been at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center for four days and the Pentagon is only now alerting the public late on a Friday evening is an outrage."

U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin (AP/Michael Probst/File)

The organization said that the Defense Department's disclosure "falls far below the normal disclosure standards" of when senior administration officials undergo surgery. 

"It falls far below the normal disclosure standards that are customary by other federal departments when senior officials undergo medical procedures or are temporarily incapacitated," the letter said.

The public has a right to know when U.S. Cabinet members are hospitalized, under anesthesia or when duties are delegated as the result of any medical procedure.

— The Pentagon Press Association

The board argued that the American public deserves to know when their leaders are incapacitated.

"The public has a right to know when U.S. Cabinet members are hospitalized, under anesthesia or when duties are delegated as the result of any medical procedure," the letter said. "That has been the practice even up to the president’s level. As the nation’s top defense leader, Secretary Austin has no claim to privacy in this situation."

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"At a time when there are growing threats to U.S. military service members in the Middle East and the U.S. is playing key national security roles in the wars in Israel and Ukraine, it is particularly critical for the American public to be informed about the health status and decision-making ability of its top defense leader," the letter concluded.

The Pentagon is seen from Air Force One as it flies over Washington, March 2, 2022. (AP Photo/Patrick Semansky, File)

Deputy Defense Secretary Kathleen Hicks has filled in while on a previously scheduled leave.

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"At all times, the deputy secretary of defense was prepared to act for and exercise the powers of the secretary, if required," Ryder said.