https://www.bing.com/ck/a?!&&p=e88d...zLWhvc3BpdGFsaXphdGlvbi9hci1BQTFtRjlIZg&ntb=1 Wonder what you all's thoughts are on this? 1. Defense Secretary not immediately informing second in command he is going into hospital that turned into ICU. 2. Second in charge was on vacation, and unaware 3. Did not inform the White House for several days that he was in the hospital. 4. The fact that no one from the Pentagon and WH are not having daily updates. Is this an administration that is in disarray or a Pentagon that doesn't care about the WH. I think with all that is going on in the world this is unacceptable.
Sounds to me like Austin didn’t want his cancer diagnosis going public. But he should’ve informed the President.
I don’t know that it says anything as specific as the administration being in disarray, but as North says, he should have told Biden
White House absolutely needs to be made aware who is in charge if there was a crisis. Pretty surprised this could have happened tbh.
I’ve seen this report and wonder ….. if the WH was told in confidence, the WH is not going to say anything about the hospitalization. Is there evidence the WH was not told or is it just a conclusion reached by some because the WH did not make a statement about this private, confidential matter?
Should he be fired for this? I tend to believe this was an oversight that he did on purpose and in his position it should not go unpunished. Whether he talks to the WH daily is another conversation, but the person in this position cannot keep the President informed. The first time he went in, maybe just local anesthesia, maybe not as big a deal, but was out of commission after the first of year for several days before the WH was informed. Just unacceptable.
He shouldnt be fired over this but should be punished. Not sure what the punishment should be. Perhaps whatever the equivalent would be if he were in the military.
Well, if you want to equivocate to military service, wouldn't what he done be considered going AWOL? I think that leads to a dishonorable discharge.
Disagree. It's why you vet cabinet members. It's a really bad look for the administration and if we're being honest, we know why Austin thought he could get away with it.
Seeing that the cabinet has not met since October Austin of course felt he could get away with it. He told Biden and Administration officisls he would be working from home for a week or so so he lied to the Commander in Chief. Most on here are ok with that because it is Dems. If this was a Pub Administration they would be demanding resignations. Shouldn't matter what side of the aisle you are on this is unacceptable behavior from your executive staff and should not be tolerated. He should resign and if not Biden should remove him.
At first glance I thought the title of this thread was "Uniformed White House." I assumed it was a look ahead at the next Trump White House. Everyone there wearing a uniform. Guess what it might look like.
White House has been steady and run well with very little turn over. If I were Biden I would consider replacing Austin because this is seemingly a very poor operational decision and not just a PR issue.
