With the ongoing Israel-Hamas war raging in the Middle East threatening to spread, the Ukraine-Russia conflict still in full swing, North Korea continuing to saber rattle and launch missiles into the waters off the Korean peninsula, and China threatening to invade Taiwan, it's more than a little concerning to find out that the nation's secretary of defense went missing for several days and nobody seemed to notice.

Turns out he was in the hospital recovering from cancer treatments, but nobody in the nation's most important defense office thought to tell Congress or the president. 

UPDATE: Congress Not Told SecDef Austin Was in the ICU and His Deputy on Vacation for the Last Week

SecDef is an enormously important job, after all; their website will tell you so:

Secretary of Defense

The secretary of defense oversees the Defense Department and acts as the principal defense policymaker and adviser.

John Kirby, he of the immensely long title "United States National Security Council Coordinator for Strategic Communications," appeared on CBS' "Face the Nation" Sunday to try to calm down the furor, but his explanations will do little to soothe the concerns of those who wonder how it's not a national security issue when the SecDef disappears.

CBS's Margaret Brennan grills top Biden spokesman John Kirby over the incapacitation scandal of Biden's defense secretary:

"There is a chain of command here, and the commander-in-chief didn't know that his defense secretary was this ill..." pic.twitter.com/i4ZG6l1daB

— RNC Research (@RNCResearch) January 14, 2024

Speaking with host Margaret Brennan, Kirby tried to downplay the situation:

MARGARET BRENNAN: So, you used to work very closely with the defense secretary, Lloyd Austin.

JOHN KIRBY: Yes.

MARGARET BRENNAN: And as we were just talking about, everyone is hoping he pulls through with this battle with cancer healthy and strong. But why is he still in the hospital? If he's able to work, why does he still need to be at Walter Reed? [Good questions, Margaret.]

JOHN KIRBY: Well, again, I'm not - I'm not his physician, so I want to be careful. But my understanding is that his - his – he's following his doctor's orders and in consultation with their views in terms of what kind of additional care he needs. And we'll - we'll see, you know, when he can get released. But, obviously, they still feel like he - he may need some additional care. I understand that part of that is just physical therapy.

Now I certainly sympathize with Austin's cancer, and hope he makes a full recovery, but it doesn't make sense to me that our defense secretary is working from a hospital bed. Hand over the reins of power until you're better.

Kirby went on to state that "There's routine regular communications between the president and the secretary of defense, as well - as well with the secretary of state." Why then did Biden not know for days that his SecDef was hospitalized?

The next exchange was truly interesting, though, where Kirby claimed that cabinet officials don't actually need to talk that much:

JOHN KIRBY: And - and normally - like, for instance, the – some of the strikes we took on Christmas Day – Christmas night and then a few days later were preapproved. Secretary Austin was part of that discussion. He was part of the discussion from his hospital room when we took these sites against these Houthis sites just a couple of nights ago. I mean he's actively involved and engaged. And I think it's important for people to remember that the cabinet officials don't have to sit and talk every single day to make every decision. A lot of the work that gets done in national security is done at the staff level. [Emphasis mine.]

MARGARET BRENNAN: Right. But there is a chain of command here.

JOHN KIRBY: Of course there is.

MARGARET BRENNAN: And the commander in chief didn't know that his defense secretary was this ill. [Margaret! A network reporter actually showing some grit -- surprising.]

It's one thing to say that maybe Biden and the secretary of labor don't necessarily need to chat every single day of the week, but it's an entirely different ballgame when it's revealed that the commander-in-chief doesn't appear to even check in regularly with what is supposed to be his "principal defense policymaker and adviser."

Kirby wrapped up the segment by admitting that the fiasco was "a problem" and that "the president has spoken to that." But once again, it appears that there are no consequences in the Biden administration.

See: Biden Doubles Down: Austin Had Lapse in Judgment, but WH Has Not Lost Confidence in Him at Pentagon

Our enemies are watching.