US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin 'on the mend' after hospital stay
Newsy
Senior administration officials at the White House and members of Congress were unaware of Austin's hospital stay for days.
U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin said in a statement on Saturday that he is now "on the mend" after spending days in the hospital after being admitted to Walter Reed National Military Medical Center in Bethesda, Maryland on Monday.
Austin said in the statement that he received "exceptional care" and his family were shown "personal warmth" during the ordeal. Austin said he looked forward to returning to his work at the Pentagon "soon."
Senior Biden administration officials and other top officials at the Pentagon, along with members of Congress, said they were unaware of the defense secretary's hospital stay for days.
The Associated Press reported that the Pentagon did not reveal the hospital stay to the White House National Security Council until Thursday and top adviser Jake Sullivan was reportedly unaware of Austin's hospital stay for days, as well.
U.S. officials said mystery still surrounded the details of his stay until Saturday when Austin released a statement with limited superficial details, complementing medical staff at Walter Reed.
