US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin (Photo: AP).
The above content is stated in a letter from Mike Rogers, Chairman of the US House Armed Services Committee. The letter requires Mr. Austin to appear before a committee on February 14 to explain the reason for the decision to keep the information secret.
Mr Austin was admitted to hospital on New Year’s Day due to complications following surgery for prostate cancer. He was moved to intensive care on January 2.
In the letter, Mr. Rogers expressed his wish for the US Secretary of Defense to be "honest and fully cooperative".
"When you and I last spoke, you promised to be completely transparent about questions regarding the confidentiality of your recent hospitalization. While you have answered some of my questions, the number of unanswered questions is troubling," the letter said.
“In particular, I am alarmed by your failure to answer whether you instructed your staff not to inform the President of the United States or anyone else about your hospitalization,” Rogers wrote. “ Congress must understand what happened and who made the decision to withhold disclosure of a Cabinet minister’s position.”
The letter expects Mr. Austin to testify at a hearing next month.
Mr Austin has come under fire after it emerged that neither President Joe Biden nor Mr Austin's deputy, Deputy Secretary Kathleen Hicks, were told he had undergone surgery or was admitted to intensive care until January 4.
Secretary Austin also kept his cancer diagnosis secret from Mr. Biden and senior officials until January 9.
Mr Austin, who lives in Virginia, later apologized for keeping the secret and said he would take full responsibility.
The US House Armed Services Committee requested a subpoena after details of the 911 call to take Mr Austin to the emergency room were revealed.
The assistant who made the call discreetly instructed the emergency crew to arrive at the scene.
“Can the ambulance please not have the lights and sirens on? We’re trying to be a little quiet,” the caller said, according to a recording obtained by the Daily Beast .
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