Senate Armed Services Committee Member Sen. Tommy Tuberville, R-Ala., told Newsmax on Monday it's a national "embarrassment" that Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin was hospitalized for days without the knowledge of the public, Congress, or even senior administration officials.
"This is probably ... the most dangerous time in your in my lifetime, and there's wars everywhere, just about to break out, and there's got to be decisions made very quickly, and I just can't imagine. ... I don't know what the White House is thinking right now," Tuberville said on "Eric Bolling The Balance." "There should be a kind of a bomb going off all around the cabinet going, 'What's the president doing?'
"He has got to make a decision. Obviously, he's already said he's not going to ask for [Austin's] resignation. He should not have to ask for it. It should already be there, over with. Somebody else should be on the line to be promoted. But this is an embarrassment. What do you think China and Russia is saying today about what's going on in our administration here. It's an absolute joke."
Tuberville made his comments as revelations came forth about Austin's disappearance from public. Reports indicate he entered the hospital for an elective medical procedure on Dec. 22, was discharged a day later, but returned to intensive care on New Year's Day.
However, Deputy Secretary of Defense Kathleen Hicks was not notified of Austin's hospitalization until Jan. 4, when she subsequently alerted national security adviser Jake Sullivan, who then informed President Joe Biden.
No reason for the initial procedure nor the return to the ICU have been disclosed.
"Well, I'm on the Armed Services Committee, and we normally hear about things like this way in advance," Tuberville said. "I saw it first on television. I'm thinking, 'This couldn't have happened.' What this is is a failure to communicate. And it's really a slap in the face to President Joe Biden because he's the boss. He's the guy that you've got to communicate with.
"Now, when Lloyd Austin travels, he travels with an entourage of 12, 24, 36 people, and it's like a moving in of an entire office anywhere he goes, and then he has security. Somebody's got to make a phone call. Somebody's got to call your boss, the one that you answer to. You know, he's sixth in line for the president. The secretary of defense very important position. You're on call 24/7."
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