The White House was not notified until January 4 that the defense secretary was in the hospital. But the White House insisted that Biden was in full control of the government, despite not knowing about Austin’s diagnosis until Tuesday.
“It’s not optimal for this situation to go on as long as it did, without the knowledge of the commander in chief, the national security adviser, or, frankly, other leaders of the Department of Defense,” a spokesman for the White House National Security Council said at a press conference at the White House. pres John Kirby. He admitted that it should not have happened.
“It is not good. We want to make sure this doesn’t happen again,” Kirby said.
During this time, Biden ordered a series of military actions, including an attack on an Iraqi militant leader, and US forces successfully shot down missiles fired by Yemen’s Houthi rebels in the Red Sea.
Kirby added that the president has complete confidence in Austin and looks forward to his return to the Pentagon.
White House Chief of Staff Jeff Zients on Tuesday ordered an urgent review of the rules governing when high-ranking US officials are incapacitated, AFP reported.
2024-01-10 08:25:28
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