Pence calls defense secretary's undisclosed hospitalization a 'dereliction of duty'

Former Vice President Mike Pence (R) called Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin’s undisclosed hospitalization this week a “dereliction of duty” in a Sunday interview.

“Well, first, I wish the Secretary of Defense well, and I’m pleased he's making a full recovery, but the handling of this by the Secretary of Defense is totally unacceptable,” Pence said on CNN’s “State of the Union.” “And I believe the American people have a right to know about his medical condition, about the reasons for it.”

Pence called on the secretary and the Biden administration to come forward and provide the facts surrounding his hospitalization, the reason for which still has not been disclosed publicly as of Sunday morning. Austin has been hospitalized since New Year's Day.

“To think that at a time when we have allies at war in Eastern Europe and here in Israel, that the leader of America's military at the Pentagon would be out of commission for a number of days, and the President of the United States didn't know about it,” Pence said. “I 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.”

The Pentagon announced Friday Austin has been admitted to Walter Reed Army Medical Center on Monday evening and experienced “complications following a recent elective medical procedure.”

On Saturday, Austin acknowledged the frustrations surrounding the lack of transparency.

“I am very glad to be on the mend and look forward to returning to the Pentagon soon,” Austin said in a statement Saturday. “I also understand the media concerns about transparency and I recognize I could have done a better job ensuring the public was appropriately informed. I commit to doing better.”