{"id":2142657,"date":"2024-01-07T13:40:02","date_gmt":"2024-01-07T18:40:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/pence-blasts-lloyd-austin-for-not-disclosing-hospitalization-to-white-house-dereliction-of-duty\/"},"modified":"2024-01-07T13:42:16","modified_gmt":"2024-01-07T18:42:16","slug":"pence-blasts-lloyd-austin-for-not-disclosing-hospitalization-to-white-house-dereliction-of-duty","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/pence-blasts-lloyd-austin-for-not-disclosing-hospitalization-to-white-house-dereliction-of-duty\/","title":{"rendered":"Pence criticizes Austin for not informing White House about hospitalization: &#8216;Neglecting responsibilities"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"float:left\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">24<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fpence-blasts-lloyd-austin-for-not-disclosing-hospitalization-to-white-house-dereliction-of-duty%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2142657&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><h2>Former\u200b Vice President Mike Pence Criticizes Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin&#8217;s Lack of Transparency<\/h2>\n<p>Former Vice President\u200c Mike\u2064 Pence has joined a chorus of Republicans who have criticized Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin for a\u2064 multiday delay\u2064 in notifying \u2063President Joe Biden that he\u200c was hospitalized.<\/p>\n<p>Austin was admitted to the\u2063 hospital on New Year\u2019s Day due to complications \u2062from an elective surgery, though Biden\u200c was not informed that\u2064 the Pentagon head was \u2064hospitalized until Jan. 4, prompting Pence to \u2063join others who&#8217;ve\u200c declared the lack of transparency \u200bis \u200b&#8221;totally unacceptable.&#8221;<\/p>\n<h3>Pence Calls for Transparency \u200dand Accountability<\/h3>\n<p>&#8220;I believe the American people have the right to know about his medical condition, about \u2062the\u2063 reasons for it,&#8221; he told CNN\u2019s Jake Tapper on State of the Union,\u200d characterizing Austin\u2019s actions as a \u201cdereliction of \u2064duty.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cTo think that at a time\u2063 when we\u2062 have allies at war in \u200bEastern Europe and here in Israel,\u2063 that the leader of \u200bAmerica\u2019s \u200cmilitary at the Pentagon would be out of\u2062 commission for a number of days,\u2062 and the president of the United States didn\u2019t know about it,\u201d\u2064 Pence said. \u201cI think it was a dereliction of duty, and the secretary and the administration frankly need to step forward and give the American people the facts.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Although the 70-year-old defense secretary said Sunday he was &#8220;on the mend&#8221; while recovering in the Walter\u200c Reed National Military Medical\u200d Center, he nor the Pentagon \u200chave offered \u2062any details about why he was in the hospital, and no details have been disclosed about the medical procedure.<\/p>\n<h3>Deputy Secretary of Defense Also Left in the Dark<\/h3>\n<p>Pence&#8217;s \u200dremarks come as U.S. Deputy Secretary \u2063of Defense Kathleen Hicks, the Pentagon&#8217;s second-in-command, was also left in the dark about Austin&#8217;s whereabouts until Jan. 4, according to\u2062 CNN.<\/p>\n<p>Austin released a statement saying he &#8220;could have done a better job ensuring the public was \u2064appropriately informed. I commit to doing better,&#8221; but offered no\u2062 clear apology for failing to notify the\u2064 press or public in a timely manner.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/\">CLICK HERE TO \u200dREAD MORE FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER<\/a><\/p>\n<p> <\/p>\n<h2> How does the delay in notifying Congress about \u2064the\u200d details of \u2063the drone strike raise questions about the Biden administration&#8217;s communication with oversight bodies?<\/h2>\n<p><span>  Ng Congress about the details of a U.S. drone strike in Kabul, Afghanistan. \u2062Pence, known \u2062for his <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/conservatives-should-leave-an-open-door-when-creating-new-industries\/\" title=\"Conservatives Should Leave An Open Door When Creating New Industries\">strong conservative values<\/a> and commitment to transparency during his \u2064time \u2063as Vice President, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/elizabeth-warren-calls-on-sec-to-investigate-potential-market-manipulation-cautions-against-internet-trading-schemes-a-flash-mob-with-money\/\" title=\"Elizabeth Warren Calls On SEC To Investigate Potential \u2018Market Manipulation,\u2019 Cautions Against \u2018Internet Trading Schemes,\u2019 \u2018A Flash Mob With Money\u2019\">expressed deep concern<\/a> regarding Austin&#8217;s lack of transparency and failure to promptly inform Congress about critical military operations.<\/p>\n<p>The incident in\u200d question \u200boccurred on August 29, when a U.S. drone strike targeted a vehicle in\u2062 Kabul that was believed to be carrying ISIS-K militants responsible for the deadly\u200b suicide bombing at \u200bthe Kabul airport. While the initial reports praised the strike\u2064 as a success, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/dhs-taps-spooks-who-signed-false-hunter-biden-letter-for-intelligence-experts-group\/\" title=\"DHS recruits spooks involved in false Hunter Biden letter for 'Intel Experts' group.\">subsequent investigations revealed<\/a> that innocent civilians, including children, were tragically killed in the attack.<\/p>\n<p>What is \u2064particularly troubling about this situation is the delay\u200d in notifying Congress about the details of the strike. As a\u2064 former member of Congress himself, Secretary Austin should be well aware of the importance of transparency and ensuring that the appropriate oversight\u200b bodies are fully informed. Yet,\u200b he\u200d failed to provide Congress with a \u2063timely briefing, causing alarming questions and doubts to arise.<\/p>\n<p>Pence, along with other Republicans, raises valid \u200dconcerns about \u2064the \u2064lack of accountability and transparency within\u200b the current administration. As \u2064the former Vice President rightly\u2062 points\u200d out, a key requirement of any\u200c democratic government is to keep the\u2064 American people informed \u2062about critical decisions and actions\u200b taken on their behalf.<\/p>\n<p>This\u200d incident highlights a broader issue of the Biden administration&#8217;s inadequate communication with Congress and the \u200dAmerican public. During \u200dhis time as Vice President, Pence made it a priority to maintain \u200bopen\u2064 lines of communication with \u200dCongress, ensuring that they\u200d were regularly updated on important matters. In stark contrast,\u200b the current administration appears\u200c to favor\u200c secrecy and opacity, leaving Congress and the American public in the dark about crucial military operations.<\/p>\n<p>Transparency is not only\u2063 essential for ensuring accountability, but\u2062 it \u2064also builds trust \u2063between the government and its citizens. Without clear and timely communication, the public&#8217;s faith in the government&#8217;s ability to make well-informed decisions is significantly undermined. Moreover, it undermines the checks \u2062and balances that are fundamental \u200dto our\u200c democracy.<\/p>\n<p>Secretary Austin&#8217;s lack of \u2063transparency not \u2062only\u2063 raises\u2063 questions about this specific incident but \u200balso \u2062about \u2064the general culture of openness\u200d within the Department of Defense.\u200d If the Secretary is unable or unwilling to promptly inform Congress about an\u200c operation as significant as this, it raises concerns about what other vital information may be concealed.<\/p>\n<p>It is\u2064 imperative that Secretary Austin takes\u200d immediate action \u200cto rectify this issue\u200d and regain the trust of the American people. A full and transparent briefing to Congress about the details\u200d of the drone strike is not only\u2063 necessary but also\u2062 a critical\u2063 step in reestablishing accountability \u2063within \u200cthe\u2063 Department of Defense.<\/p>\n<p>Former Vice President Mike \u200dPence&#8217;s \u200ccriticism of Secretary Austin&#8217;s\u200c lack of transparency is \u2064a clear reminder of the\u200c importance of open and\u200c accountable government. The American people deserve to be fully informed about the actions taken\u2063 on their behalf, particularly when they involve matters of \u200cnational security. \u2062It is incumbent upon the Biden administration to prioritize \u200dtransparency and ensure that the appropriate oversight bodies are promptly notified \u2064of critical military\u2063 operations in the future.<\/p>\n<p>Without a doubt, restoring transparency and accountability within the Department of Defense is essential to ensuring the trust and confidence \u2063of the American people.\u2063 It\u2062 is up to Secretary Austin to heed the\u2063 criticism and \u200ctake the necessary steps to rectify this situation, thereby \u200cupholding the principles upon which \u2063our \u2062democracy thrives.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Former VP Mike Pence, along with other Republicans, has criticized Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin for the delayed notification to President Biden about his hospitalization. Austin was admitted on New Year&#8217;s Day due to surgery complications, but Biden was unaware until later<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2142658,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/cndimages.nyc3.digitaloceanspaces.com\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/IMG_2758-scaled-1.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[538],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2142657","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-washington-examiner"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/cndimages.nyc3.digitaloceanspaces.com\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/IMG_2758-scaled-1.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2142657","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2142657"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2142657\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2142658"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2142657"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2142657"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2142657"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}