{"id":2391041,"date":"2025-01-16T09:21:57","date_gmt":"2025-01-16T14:21:57","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/lloyd-austin-went-mia-twice-last-year-and-didnt-tell-congress\/"},"modified":"2025-01-16T09:23:27","modified_gmt":"2025-01-16T14:23:27","slug":"lloyd-austin-went-mia-twice-last-year-and-didnt-tell-congress","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/lloyd-austin-went-mia-twice-last-year-and-didnt-tell-congress\/","title":{"rendered":"Lloyd Austin Went MIA Twice Last Year And Didn&#8217;t Tell Congress"},"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\">22<\/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%2Flloyd-austin-went-mia-twice-last-year-and-didnt-tell-congress%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=2391041&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--><p>An <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/mayorkas-sworn-in-as-secretary-of-homeland-security-despite-heavy-gop-opposition\/\" title=\"Mayorkas Sworn In As Secretary Of Homeland Security Despite Heavy GOP Opposition\">inspector general report<\/a> indicates \u200bthat U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin transferred his \u2063duties to a subordinate \u2062on two occasions last year without informing Congress, as required by law. This revelation raises concerns about Austin&#8217;s accountability during periods of unexplained absence from his role. \u2063The report highlights Austin&#8217;s hospitalization in early January\u200d 2024 for a medical procedure related \u200dto a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/rage-against-the-machines-tim-commerford-reveals-prostate-cancer-diagnosis\/\" title=\"Rage Against The Machine\u2019s Tim Commerford Reveals Prostate Cancer Diagnosis\">prostate cancer diagnosis<\/a>, which he did not communicate effectively to Congress or \u2062other key officials in the Biden governance, including Deputy Secretary of Defense kathleen Hicks, who was on vacation at the time. <\/p>\n<p>Furthermore, the report details two incidents in June 2024 where Austin temporarily handed over responsibilities without the\u200d required\u2062 notifications to congress and the Comptroller General, attributing the \u2063transfers to travel. These actions \u2064have drawn criticism, particularly from Senator Tommy Tuberville,\u200c who expressed alarm over potential lapses in the military chain \u200bof command that could leave the nation vulnerable. The situation underscores the importance\u200b of adherence to\u2064 federal \u200creporting requirements concerning \u200bvacancies in <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/advisers-plea-with-biden-to-change-his-coronavirus-strategy-as-he-fails-to-shut-down-the-virus-report\/\" title=\"Advisers \u2018Plea\u2019 With Biden To Change His Coronavirus Strategy As He Fails To \u2018Shut Down The Virus\u2019: Report\">high-ranking government positions<\/a>.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><\/p>\n<div class=\"article-body body-md bdr-top-black pt-30\">\n<div class=\"row justify-content-center\">\n<div class=\"col-12\">\n<figure class=\"article-thumbnail mb-30 mb-sm-60\">\n<div class=\"article-thumbnail-caption d-flex align-items-center justify-content-md-end label-xs mt-15\">         <i class=\"mdi mdi-camera me-10\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><\/i>         <span class=\"visually-hidden\">Image Credit<\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/commons.wikimedia.org\/wiki\/File:250109-D-PM193-6623_(54256978243).jpg\">U.S. Navy Petty Officer 1st Class Alexander Kubitza\/U.S. Secretary of Defense\/Wikimedia Commons<\/a>       <\/div>\n<\/figure><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"article-share text-center article-share-simple\">\n<h5 class=\"label-sm mb-10\">Share<\/h5>\n<ul class=\"article-share-list list-unstyled m-0 p-0\">\n<li class=\"article-share-facebook m-0\">       <a href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer\/sharer.php?u=https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2025\/01\/16\/report-defense-secretary-lloyd-austin-went-mia-twice-last-year-and-didnt-tell-congress\/\" target=\"_blank\">         <i class=\"mdi mdi-facebook\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><\/i>         <span class=\"visually-hidden\">Share Article on Facebook<\/span>       <\/a>     <\/li>\n<li class=\"article-share-twitter m-0\">       <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=Report:%20Defense%20Secretary%20Lloyd%20Austin%20Went%20MIA%20Twice%20Last%20Year%20And%20Didn%E2%80%99t%20Tell%20Congress&amp;url=https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2025\/01\/16\/report-defense-secretary-lloyd-austin-went-mia-twice-last-year-and-didnt-tell-congress\/\" target=\"_blank\">         <i class=\"mdi mdi-twitter\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><\/i>         <span class=\"visually-hidden\">Share Article on Twitter<\/span>       <\/a>     <\/li>\n<li class=\"article-share-truth-social m-0\">       <a href=\"https:\/\/truthsocial.com\/share?title=Report:%20Defense%20Secretary%20Lloyd%20Austin%20Went%20MIA%20Twice%20Last%20Year%20And%20Didn%E2%80%99t%20Tell%20Congress&amp;url=https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2025\/01\/16\/report-defense-secretary-lloyd-austin-went-mia-twice-last-year-and-didnt-tell-congress\/\" target=\"_blank\">         <svg xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" fill=\"currentColor\" style=\"width:36px;height:auto;\" viewbox=\"0 0 92 93\"><path d=\"M69.444 55.716H56.772v10.37h12.672zM64.487 37.795V27.32H38.666v38.664h13.18v-28.19zM21.05 27.321h12.653v10.471H21.051z\" https:><\/path><\/svg>         <span class=\"visually-hidden\">Share Article on Truth Social<\/span>       <\/a>     <\/li>\n<li class=\"article-share-link m-0\">       <button data-clipboard-text=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2025\/01\/16\/report-defense-secretary-lloyd-austin-went-mia-twice-last-year-and-didnt-tell-congress\/\" data-tooltip-content=\"Copied!\" class=\"clip tooltip\">         <i class=\"mdi mdi-link-variant\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><\/i>         <span class=\"visually-hidden\">Copy Article Link<\/span>       <\/button>     <\/li>\n<li class=\"article-share-email m-0\">       <a href=\"mailto:?subject=Report:%20Defense%20Secretary%20Lloyd%20Austin%20Went%20MIA%20Twice%20Last%20Year%20And%20Didn%E2%80%99t%20Tell%20Congress&amp;body=Lloyd%20Austin%20transferred%20his%20duties%20to%20a%20subordinate%20on%20two%20occasions%20last%20year%20and%20didn't%20inform%20Congress,%20a%20new%20report%20finds.%20https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2025\/01\/16\/report-defense-secretary-lloyd-austin-went-mia-twice-last-year-and-didnt-tell-congress\/\" target=\"_blank\">         <i class=\"mdi mdi-email\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><\/i>         <span class=\"visually-hidden\">Share Article via Email<\/span>       <\/a>     <\/li>\n<li class=\"article-share-email m-0\"><span class=\"printfriendly pf-button  pf-alignleft\"><a target=\"_blank\" href=\"http:\/\/thefederalist.com\/#\" rel=\"nofollow\" onclick=\"window.print(); return false;\" title=\"Printer Friendly, PDF &amp; Email\"><span id=\"printfriendly-text2\" class=\"pf-button-text\"><i class=\"mdi mdi-printer\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><\/i><\/span><\/a><\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul><\/div>\n<p>Lloyd Austin transferred his responsibilities as defense secretary to a subordinate on two separate occasions last year and didn&rsquo;t inform Congress as required by federal law, according to an explosive <a href=\"https:\/\/media.defense.gov\/2025\/Jan\/15\/2003628254\/-1\/-1\/1\/DODIG-2025-058%20---%20REDACTED_PUBLIC%20RELEASE%20-%20UPDATED.PDF\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">inspector general report<\/a> released Wednesday. The revelation marks another instance in which Austin has been caught going MIA while leading the Pentagon.<\/p>\n<p>Released by the office of the Department of Defense (DOD) inspector general, the report primarily focuses on a controversy involving Austin that arose in January 2024. The defense secretary was admitted to Walter Reed&rsquo;s ICU on Jan. 1 after reportedly &ldquo;experiencing severe pain,&rdquo; which seemingly stemmed from an &ldquo;initial medical procedure&rdquo; he underwent on Dec. 22, 2023, according to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/us-news\/2024\/jan\/08\/lloyd-austin-first-went-into-hospital-on-22-december-pentagon\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">The Guardian<\/a>. <\/p>\n<div class=\"fdrlst__b89e9-paragraph-2 d-flex justify-content-center\" style=\"margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center; \" id=\"fdrlst__b89e9-50403463\">\n<div id=\"div-gpt-ad-1463670073398-0\" class=\"mb-30\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>The report confirms Austin&rsquo;s procedure was related to a prostate cancer diagnosis. <\/p>\n<p>As I previously <a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2024\/01\/09\/politicos-who-attacked-tubervilles-abortion-protest-over-military-readiness-are-mia-on-defense-secs-secret-leave\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">wrote<\/a> in these pages, the American people, Congress, and high-ranking Biden administration officials &mdash; including President Biden &mdash; were unaware of Austin&rsquo;s absence for several days. Even Deputy Secretary of Defense Kathleen Hicks &mdash; whom Austin transferred his responsibilities to and was vacationing in Puerto Rico at the time &mdash; was also unaware of the situation until she was briefed on the matter days after Austin was admitted to the ICU.<\/p>\n<p>But it appears that wasn&rsquo;t the only instance in which Austin failed to <a href=\"https:\/\/amzn.to\/3YuVZYV\">properly notify relevant authorities<\/a> about transferring his duties to Hicks.<\/p>\n<p>According to Wednesday&rsquo;s IG report, the Pentagon &ldquo;did not report two [Assumption of Functions and Duties] AFDs, occurring on June 17, 2024, and June 21, 2024, to the Comptroller General and Congress&rdquo; as required by federal law and DOD policy. <\/p>\n<p>The DOD IG noted how both transfer of power notifications &ldquo;stated that the reason for the AFD was travel&rdquo; and that Hicks &ldquo;was serving as the Acting Secretary of Defense.&rdquo; While the directives &ldquo;did not indicate the expected duration of the transfer&rdquo; of authority, &ldquo;the June 17 AFD lasted 1 hour and the June 21 AFD lasted 35 minutes,&rdquo; according to the report.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;However, although these AFDs were reported to the [White House Situation Room], they were not reported to the Comptroller General and Congress,&rdquo; the analysis reads.<\/p>\n<p>As described by the DOD IG, the Federal Vacancies Reform Act requires &ldquo;the head of the executive agency to notify the Comptroller General of the United States and both houses of Congress &lsquo;immediately upon the occurrence of [a] vacancy&rsquo; in a[Presidentialappointmentwith[Presidentialappointmentwith<br \/>Senate confirmation]position, including the name of any person serving in an acting capacity and the date such service began.&rdquo; <\/p>\n<p>The statute specifies that a &ldquo;vacancy&rdquo; occurs when the individual holding the position in question &ldquo;dies, resigns, or is otherwise unable to perform the functions and duties of the office.&rdquo; The report subsequently noted, &ldquo;the FVRA reporting requirement applies when the Deputy Secretary of Defense serves as Acting Secretary of Defense pursuant&rdquo; to federal law.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;As a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, I am deeply, deeply disturbed to learn that we have had two significant lapses in the chain of command that have left our country wide open for attack,&rdquo; Sen. Tommy Tuberville, R-Ala., said in response to the revelation. &ldquo;Just as you would expect, there will be zero accountability from the Biden administration.&rdquo; <\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\"> <span class=\"TspIeH6d1c9Sil3w5qVNUKmvJ04z2tuG8YZFQghWRxXPEABDMrnj\"><\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"500\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">I just read an EXTREMELY DISTURBING IG report.<\/p>\n<p>Last December, Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin was hospitalized and failed to follow the law by notifying the White House or Congress.<\/p>\n<p>Turns out, the same thing happened AGAIN in June. The Secretary of Defense went AWOL TWICE&hellip; <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/wJfXBFniW1\">pic.twitter.com\/wJfXBFniW1<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&mdash; Coach Tommy Tuberville (@SenTuberville) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/SenTuberville\/status\/1879664834062451010?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">January 15, 2025<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/span> <\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<p>Wednesday&rsquo;s report concluded that neither Austin nor Hicks &ldquo;met the requirement&rdquo; to notify Congress and the comptroller general of Austin&rsquo;s decision to transfer his responsibilities to Hicks during his January medical episode. While the DOD IG &ldquo;acknowledge[d]&rdquo; Hicks was unaware that she had been made acting defense secretary, &ldquo;there nonetheless was a requirement for her &hellip; to make those immediate notifications.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<\/p>\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator\">\n<div class=\"article-author-description fst-italic\">      Shawn Fleetwood is a staff writer for The Federalist and a graduate of the University of Mary Washington. He previously served as a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/exclusive-american-freedom-convoy-set-to-launch-on-march-1\/\" title=\"Exclusive: \u2018American Freedom Convoy\u2019 Set To Launch On March 1\">state content writer<\/a> for Convention of States Action and his work has been featured in numerous outlets, including RealClearPolitics, RealClearHealth, and Conservative Review. Follow him on Twitter @ShawnFleetwood<\/div>\n<div class=\"article-author mt-30 mt-sm-60 pt-30 bdr-top-bold-black\">\n<div class=\"row g-0 align-items-center\">\n<div class=\"col-12 col-md-6\">\n<div class=\"article-author-profile d-flex align-items-center justify-content-center justify-content-md-start\">\n<div class=\"article-author-details\">\n<div class=\"label-md\">Shawn Fleetwood<\/div>\n<div class=\"article-author-twitter label-sm d-flex align-items-center mt-10\">             <i class=\"mdi mdi-twitter me-5\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><\/i>             <span class=\"visually-hidden\">Visit on Twitter<\/span>            <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/ShawnFleetwood\" target=\"_blank\" class=\"text-decoration-none\">@ShawnFleetwood<\/a>           <\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"col-12 col-md-6 d-flex justify-content-center justify-content-md-end mt-15 mt-md-0\">        <a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/author\/shawnfleetwood\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">More Articles<\/a>     <\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"article-tags bdr-top-black mt-30 mt-sm-60 pt-15 pt-md-45\">\n<ul class=\"list-unstyled d-flex flex-wrap align-items-center mb-0 mx-n10 p-0\">\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/biden-administration\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">Biden administration<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/chain-of-command\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">chain of command<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/corruption\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">Corruption<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/cover-up-2\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">cover up<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/defense-department\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">Defense Department<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/hosptial\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">Hosptial<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/lloyd-austin\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">Lloyd Austin<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/mia\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">MIA<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/pentagon\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">Pentagon<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/the-white-house\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">The White House<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Lloyd Austin delegated his defense secretary duties twice last year without notifying Congress as required<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":539,"featured_media":2391042,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/Lloyd-Austin.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[4402,40514,23719],"class_list":["post-2391041","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","tag-congress","tag-lloyd-austin","tag-mia"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/Lloyd-Austin.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2391041","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\/539"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2391041"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2391041\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2391045,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2391041\/revisions\/2391045"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2391042"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2391041"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2391041"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2391041"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}