Click here to view Senator Cotton’s interview.
In case you missed it – Senator Tom Cotton (R-Arkansas) today spoke with Sandra Smith on “America Reports” about Pentagon officials failing to disclose to President Biden or the White House that Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin was hospitalized last week. Senator Cotton said the episode also called President Biden’s leadership into question and called for Secretary Austin to resign.
In part, Senator Cotton said:
On the Pentagon’s lack of transparency: “Of course, the Secretary of Defense has a large, large number of aides around him, to include a senior military aide, a three star General, who should be in constant communication with the White House and the National Security Council under such circumstances. But the Department of Defense is being as secretive and are stonewalling Congress as much as they are American people, and frankly, as much as they did the White House.”
On President Biden’s competence: “What's worse, that the Secretary of Defense was hospitalized and unable to perform his duty for four days without the President of the United States knowing-much less than Congress to the public-or the fact that the President, and no one at the White House noticed? Again, it raises questions about Joe Biden's competence and whether he's really in charge at the White House.”
On potential consequences: “And if your judgment is so poor on such a simple matter, what do you say about your judgment on things like the withdrawal from Afghanistan, or the support for Israel in the Middle East, or efforts to deter China from attacking Taiwan, someone is going to have to resign over this. And right now, since Lloyd Austin has taken responsibility for it, it would appear that Lloyd Austin is the person who needs to resign, or his chief of staff, or both of them, because it also sounds like many senior Department of Defense officials were also not in the loop.”
Senator Cotton’s full interview may be found here and below.
Sandra Smith: The White House and the Defense Department were left in the dark for days about Defense Secretary Austin's hospitalization. So why was that? Senator Tom Cotton of the Senate Armed Services Committee joins us now. Senator, good to see you. We know that you're reacting to this. But what we were told from the Pentagon spokesperson just a short time ago, is that the reason it took so long for the President and the National Security Council to learn of Austin's hospitalization is because his chief of staff had the flu. That is really the response that we are getting right now. Have you been independently told anything about this because of your position on the committee?
Senator Cotton: No, Sandra, that answer is preposterous. Of course, the Secretary of Defense has a large, large number of aides around him, to include a senior military aide, a three star General, who should be in constant communication with the White House and the National Security Council under such circumstances. But the Department of Defense is being as secretive and are stonewalling Congress as much as they are American people, and frankly, as much as they did the White House. I mean, it raises some troubling questions: if this administration would conceal a mere elective, minor surgery for a cabinet secretary, what might be what might they be concealing about Joe Biden's health? Or another question? What's worse, that the Secretary of Defense was hospitalized and unable to perform his duty for four days without the President of the United States knowing-much less than Congress to the public-or the fact that the President, and no one at the White House noticed? Again, it raises questions about Joe Biden's competence and whether he's really in charge at the White House. We have to get the answers about what kind of procedure this was, why it was chosen to undergo now, and why no one chose to inform the President of the United States or his senior aides, much less Congress or the American people, that the Secretary of Defense was hospitalized and unable to perform his duties. It is incumbent on the secretary to be more forthcoming.
Sandra Smith: Anything could happen at any moment of the day. And that is the point. And no one knew that he was in the hospital. Thankfully, the update here is that he's listed in good condition. Now he's been moved out of the ICU, and we hope for his full recovery. John Kirby gave an update on the secretary today, it was a gaggle, it was audio only. But he said this. Senator, listen.
John Kirby (audio clip): He's already doing all the functions he would normally do. He's just doing he's doing it right now, from the hospital, we'll take a look at process and procedure here and try to learn from this experience. And if there's some changes that need to be made, in terms of process and procedure, we'll do that.
Sandra Smith: We'll take a look at the process and procedure and try to learn from it. Is this a White House that showing that is taking this seriously enough and showing urgency in the matter?
Senator Cotton: No, Sandra, and it's not a matter of process and procedure. It's a matter of judgment, whatever your process and procedure is, of course, when you're the Secretary of Defense, or his chief of staff, or other senior department official, and you know that you're going in for surgery, even if it's minor elective surgery, you have to have contingency plans if something goes wrong, you have to have the basic sound judgment, to give a call to the president of the National Security Adviser and say, 'Hey, I'm going in for this surgery,' or you have to have your staff call in and do that. And if your judgment is so poor on such a simple matter, what do you say about your judgment on things like the withdrawal from Afghanistan, or the support for Israel in the Middle East, or efforts to deter China from attacking Taiwan, someone is going to have to resign over this. And right now, since Lloyd Austin has taken responsibility for it, it would appear that Lloyd Austin is the person who needs to resign, or his chief of staff, or both of them, because it also sounds like many senior Department of Defense officials were also not in the loop.
Again, this is a shocking breakdown in the chain of command and basic communication within the department and to the White House. As you said, this is not the Secretary of Transportation or Housing and Urban Development. This is the Secretary of Defense who's in the chain of command, including the nuclear chain of command, who has to be reachable and whose whereabouts and conditions have to be known at all times by the Commander in Chief. Just another example of Joe Biden falling down on the job.
Sandra Smith: All right, Senator, I appreciate you joining us today. Thank you very much. We'll keep following it.