Pentagon Inspector General to Probe Austin Hospitalization
- Watchdog to examine whether notification procedure is adequate
- Criticism of Austin’s secret absence persists in Congress
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The Pentagon’s internal watchdog announced it will probe the circumstances around Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin’s hospitalization, after he suffered complications from prostate surgery but didn’t tell the White House for days.
The investigation will look at whether Pentagon procedures are “sufficient to ensure timely and appropriate notifications and the effective transition of authorities as may be warranted” if senior leaders fall ill or become unavailable, Pentagon Inspector General Robert Storch said in a memo Thursday.