Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin will NOT lose his job despite keeping a mystery illness and ICU stint secret from the White House for three days — as ex-DOD official warns: ‘Someone’s head needs to roll’

Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin will keep his job despite not telling Joe Biden he was having surgery and would be away for five days.

The top Pentagon official did not tell the White House about a planned surgery that left him hospitalized at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center on New Year’s Day due to complications.

The 70-year-old Austin is just below Biden at the top of the US military’s command structure, and his duties require him to be available at a moment’s notice.

A Pentagon spokesperson told DailyMail.com that Austin “resumed full duties from the hospital” Friday evening, and that he was still in the hospital Sunday morning but “recovering well.”

Despite a barrage of criticism from members of Congress over his mysterious disappearance, White House aides have said Politics that his job is not in jeopardy.

Several also highlighted Biden’s deep personal bond with Austin, thanks to the former four-star general’s close friendship with the president’s late son, Beau Biden.

Austin, 70, is just under President Joe Biden at the top of the US military’s command structure and his duties require him to be available at a moment’s notice to respond to any kind of national security crisis

Ex-DOD officials have said someone will likely be fired over the unrest — though Austin may be saved thanks to his personal connection to Joe Biden. (Image: Biden speaking at a White House meeting in January 2023, flanked by Austin and Antony Blinken)

But aides couldn’t say what led to the bizarre situation: what Austin’s surgery entailed, what the medical complications were or even his current condition.

Some officials who spoke to Politico on condition of anonymity said a senior Pentagon official is likely to lose his job because of the chaos.

“Someone needs to roll their heads,” said a former defense official.

“Someone decided not to make it public,” another ex-official agreed. That person will probably be gone soon.”

‘I won’t tell [White House], Congress or the media that he is sick, and then telling the Pentagon staff that he is working from home is the next level. This is a problem.’

Some officials also noted that Alabama-born Austin was close to Beau Biden after they served together in Iraq and attended Catholic services side by side.

Lower-level assistants, including Sasha Baker and his deputy Kathleen Hicks, have replaced Austin in the interim. Hicks was reportedly on vacation in Puerto Rico but had to attend to some duties.

Five days after the top national security official disappeared from the radar, Pentagon press secretary Major General Pat Ryder offered a limited explanation for his absence.

“On the evening of January 1, Secretary of Defense Lloyd J. Austin III was admitted to Walter Reed National Military Medical Center due to complications following a recent elective medical procedure,” Ryder said.

“He is recovering well and expects to resume full duties today. The Deputy Minister of Defense was at all times prepared, if necessary, to act on behalf of the Minister and to exercise the powers of the Minister.”

Just a day earlier, Ryder gave a televised news briefing that conveyed a sense of business as usual at the Pentagon, offering Austin’s condolences to ally Japan after the New Year’s Day earthquake, for example.

Despite a barrage of criticism from members of Congress and the media over Austin’s mysterious disappearance, White House aides have told Politico that his job is not in jeopardy.

Five days after the top national security official disappeared from the radar, Pentagon press secretary Major General Pat Ryder (pictured) offered a limited explanation of his absence

Some officials who spoke to Politico on condition of anonymity said a senior Pentagon official is likely to lose his job because of the chaos. (Pictured: The Pentagon as seen on August 27, 2023)

But the past week has been anything but normal for the Pentagon, with US forces in the Middle East grappling with the regional fallout from the unfolding Israel-Hamas war and launching a US retaliatory strike in Baghdad on Thursday.

The Defense Department’s handling of Austin’s hospitalization contrasts with the State Department’s handling of then-Secretary of State Colin Powell’s prostate surgery on December 15, 2003.

The then-State Department spokesman issued a statement in the morning disclosing that Powell, a retired four-star general and former chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, underwent surgery at Walter Reed Army Medical Center and remained there for several days would stay. before returning home.

It also said Powell would have a reduced schedule while he recovered from the surgery. Then-State Department spokesman Richard Boucher subsequently provided details of Powell’s operation in his daily briefing.

Contacted by Reuters on Friday, Boucher said the main question regarding disclosure was whether Austin was under anesthesia or incapacitated.

“Was there a point in the process when he could not function as Secretary of Defense?” he asked. “If you’re walking around and you have information and you have assistants in the next room and you can make split-second decisions… then there’s probably no public need to make this public.

“The only necessity is to get you thrown out,” he added.