U.S. Representative Mike Rogers (R-AL), Chairman of the House Armed Services Committee, delivered the following opening remarks at a full committee hearing on the circumstances surrounding Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin's failure to inform the President of his absence from duty.
Chairman Rogers' remarks as prepared for delivery:
Mr. Secretary, thank you for being here today.
Let me start by saying all of us here wish you a full and speedy recovery.
We understand you are still recovering, and sitting for too long is not the best thing for your health.
So, in consultation with Ranking Member Smith, we've agreed to your request to limit your appearance before us today to two hours.
That means we likely will not get to all Members for questions.
If we can't get to you today, you can submit your questions for the record.
Also, the Secretary will be back in about a month to testify before us again.
Mr. Secretary, the reason we asked you here today is not to discuss your health.
We're here today to determine why the President was not immediately informed of your incapacitation.
The timeline as we understand it, is this:
On the evening of January 1st, Secretary Austin was transported to the Hospital via ambulance for complications stemming from a surgical procedure he had on December 22nd.
On the afternoon of January 2nd, the Secretary's authorities are transferred to Deputy Secretary Hicks, without her even being informed as to why.
On January 4th, three days after the Secretary's hospitalization, Deputy Secretary Hicks and the President were first informed that Secretary Austin was in the hospital.
On January 5th, Congress was informed of Secretary Austin's hospitalization.
It's totally unacceptable that it took over 3 days to inform the President that the Secretary of Defense was in the hospital and not in control of the Pentagon.
Wars were raging in Ukraine and Israel, our ships were under fire in the Red Sea, and our bases were bracing for attack in Iraq and Syria.
But the Commander in Chief did not know that his Secretary of Defense was out of action.
Even the Deputy Secretary, the person to whom your powers were transferred didn't know that you were in the hospital.
Our forces conducted a pre-authorized strike on an Iranian-backed militia in Iraq during this period.
Had something gone wrong with that strike, or worse, if there was an attack on the United States, precious time would have been wasted while the President sought in vain to find his Defense Secretary.
The Chain of Command doesn't work when the Commander in Chief doesn't know who to call.
That's why we want to know who made the decision to withhold this information from the President.
And although you've publicly stated you are solely responsible, you've also informed the committee that it wasn't you who decided to withhold the information from the President.
We were led to believe your 30-day internal review would shed light on the matter.
But it includes no explanation of why the President and his staff were left in the dark.
It makes no recommendations to improve communication with the White House.
And unsurprisingly, it holds no one accountable.
We appreciate your desire to protect your subordinates, but it's important in a democracy that public officials are held accountable when mistakes are made.
This administration has gone to great lengths to avoid accountability whenever possible.
But this is a matter of national security, and someone needs to be held accountable.
Furthermore, I find it very concerning that the Secretary could be hospitalized for three days without anyone else in the Administration even noticing.
That suggests Secretary Austin's advice is not sought or heeded in the White House, even while military operations were ongoing in the Middle East.
It also implies that White House politicals, not seasoned defense professionals, are in the driver's seat on matters of national security.
Which is very disturbing.
Finally, beyond the immediate need to inform the President, Congress also has a right to know of a secretarial absence or transfer of authority.
Ironically enough, none of this would have come to our attention if the White House hadn't demanded that the Department come clean to Congress and the public.
Ultimately, our goal today is to understand how and why this happened so we can ensure it never happens again.
