As RedState reported on Friday, Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin was hospitalized after an elective surgery and failed to inform Congress, the White House, and his fellow service chiefs that this was occurring until after the fact. Talk about lack of military readiness.

See: Joint Chiefs Chairman Knew Austin Was Hospitalized and Didn't Tell the White House or the Service Chiefs 

NEW UPDATED UPDATE: SecDef Austin Did Not Tell Biden's National Security Adviser He Was in the ICU.

On Sunday's CNN "State of the Union," South Carolina Rep. James Clyburn, the man who helped get candidate Joe Biden across the finish line in his state in the crucial 2020 presidential primaries, danced and dodged around a question posed by host Jake Tapper. Tapper referred to his earlier interview with former Vice President Mike Pence where Pence characterized Austin’s actions as a “dereliction of duty.” Of course, Pence's boss, former President Donald J. Trump, didn't miss an opportunity to skewer SecDef Austin.

 Tapper pressed Clyburn, wanting to know, "Is this acceptable to you?"

WATCH:

.@RepJamesClyburn tells @jaketapper that Secretary Lloyd Austin has a "duty" to keep the public informed on his recent hospitalization. "I do wish that it had been disclosed." pic.twitter.com/TJ6LigeoS8

— State of the Union (@CNNSOTU) January 7, 2024

I don't think it's a dereliction of duty, no, I don't think that at all. I do wish that it had been disclosed, and maybe it was, maybe just not made public. 

That's a word salad worthy of VP Kamala Harris. The very definition of "disclosure" is to make it public. 

So, I don't know all the particulars, I do know Lloyd Austin. He is a stand up guy. He's a great defense secretary. He has been a tremendous military man in this country. And I'm told he is in charge of things as he was before the illness. 

And what would have happened if the secretary had not survived this illness? If he had died on the operating table or gotten a severe infection while under in-patient care? It is not outside the bounds of credulity, and a supposed journalist like Tapper should have followed up with those types of questions. Clyburn instead made it sound as though adherence to HIPAA laws is a legitimate excuse for not alerting the American people that the head of our nation's defenses was out of commission, even for a short time.

Now, we have some laws in this country. The HIPAA laws, to keep us out of people's medical business. And I do believe this man has as much right to be protected by those laws and to be subjected to those laws as everybody else. 

Then Clyburn tries to throw someone "inside of the military establishment" under the bus, saying it might have been their decision. Kind of makes this even more frightening, since SecDef Austin is supposed to be the ultimate decision-maker.

He does have a duty to keep the public informed. And I don't know whether it was him, or somebody inside of the military establishment who decided to do it this way, but I'm sure he'll do a little better going forward, as he said he would.

This song and dance by Rep. Clyburn is an indication that there is blood in the water. The first Black United States Secretary of Defense and progressive darling may well have stayed too long at the fair. As a military man himself, our streiff blistered Austin in his piece, Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin Has Been Hospitalized for a Week and Just Told Congress Today.

I don't believe in indispensable men (except maybe George Washington); if I did, a midwit like Austin wouldn't be among them. There is nothing this guy has touched from the Afghan debacle to our response in the Red Sea that has been a disaster to him hiding under his bed with his blankey at the thought of "extremists" in the military (DOD's 'Military Extremism' Investigation Is a Dud) that hasn't been both sad and ridiculous. 

What is troubling about this is the lack of honesty and duplicity of his actions. 

Retired U.S. Army Col. and public affairs officer and former U.S. Central Command communications director Joe Buccino felt even more strongly about the matter. Buccino deemed it a "stunning breach of transparency standards" as well as a hit to SecDef Austin's reputation. Buccino demanded that Austin resign. 

The original admission – dropped at the end of a Friday to minimize exposure – that the Secretary received multi-day treatment for an unidentified elective surgery introduced immediate and intense scrutiny from national security reporters. It drew a formal admonishment from the Pentagon press.

The issue may have died there, but the subterfuge further grew the story. Additional reporting revealed some critical details not released by the Pentagon in its Friday announcement: Austin was in in-patient intensive care, generally reserved for those in immediate danger. Meanwhile, his Deputy Secretary of Defense, Kathleen Hicks, was vacationing in Puerto Rico.

Buccino also had legitimate questions from the lens of someone who knows the playing field and what Austin's serious breach of protocol could have cost us. Most notable, if critical staff knew that the Secretary of Defense would be hospitalized, why would his deputy go on vacation?! President Joe Biden was also on vacation around the same time, so it appears to be a disease among this administration to shirk duty at the most inconvenient of times, and we live in not just inconvenient but perilous times.

Further, still – what is the health status of our Secretary of Defense? Only a severe condition would introduce multi-day hospitalization amidst multiple crises in the Middle East, a log-jammed war in Ukraine, and new Chinese threats against Taiwan. The statement Austin released late Saturday in an attempt to tamp down the controversy reveals he is “on the mend” – whatever that means – and looks forward to “returning to the Pentagon soon.” How long is he out? This seems much more serious than elective surgery – the line the Pentagon press officers are sticking with. What is his medical status at age 70?

Like the exposure that former Harvard President Claudine Gay received after her tone-deaf testimony before Congress, it is not implausible to see that SecDef Austin could be next in line to lose his position. NY Rep. Elise Stefanik, along with Pence and other Republicans, joined in the calls for Austin's resignation.

It is shocking and absolutely unacceptable that the Department of Defense waited multiple days to notify the President, the National Security Council, and the American people that Defense Secretary Austin was hospitalized and unable to perform his duties. In the chain of command,…

— Rep. Elise Stefanik (@RepStefanik) January 8, 2024

It is shocking and absolutely unacceptable that the Department of Defense waited multiple days to notify the President, the National Security Council, and the American people that Defense Secretary Austin was hospitalized and unable to perform his duties. In the chain of command, the Secretary of Defense serves as the connection through which the President commands and controls our armed forces. At this dangerous time when American service members are under attack in Iraq and Syria, our closest partner and ally Israel is at war with Hamas terrorists, and the threat from Communist China is on the rise, it is critical that the Secretary of Defense has the full trust of the American people, Congress, and the White House. This concerning lack of transparency exemplifies a shocking lack of judgment and a significant national security threat. There must be full accountability beginning with the immediate resignation of Secretary Austin and those that lied for him and a Congressional investigation into this dangerous dereliction of duty.

Notable in Clyburn's defense of Austin: He didn't try using the race card (unusual for him), and he rattled off talking points on the issue surrounding his hospitalization. Clyburn wouldn't know HIPAA if it slapped him in the face. This is an indicator that even Democrats may know that Austin's days are numbered. In the meantime, sources are saying someone high up in the Department of Defense will be the fall... person.

But some officials speculated a senior aide at the Pentagon is likely to lose their job over the brouhaha. “Someone’s head has to roll,” said a DOD official.

“Not telling the [White House], Congress or the media he is sick, and then telling Pentagon staff he is working from home is next level. This is a problem,” said one former senior DOD official. “Someone made the decision not to disclose. That person will likely be gone shortly.”

It's a new and welcome age when Black progressive "firsts" like Gay and Austin can no longer use their race or progressive credentials to skate accountability.