defense secretary

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As Mideast Tensions Spike, US Sends in Extra Firepower

Guided-missile sub, USS Abraham Lincoln aircraft carrier are en route

(Newser) - US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin has ordered a guided-missile submarine to the Middle East and is telling the USS Abraham Lincoln aircraft carrier strike group to sail more quickly to the area, the Defense Department said Sunday. The moves come as the US and other allies push for Israel and...

Defense Chief Undergoes Another Medical Procedure

Lloyd Austin has already resumed duties after Friday procedure for ongoing bladder issues

(Newser) - Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin underwent a medical procedure at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center Friday evening and has resumed duties after temporarily transferring power to his deputy, Pentagon press secretary Maj. Gen. Pat Ryder said in a statement. Austin is continuing to deal with bladder issues that arose in...

Defense Secretary Austin Discharged From Hospital

Pentagon says he has resumed full duties but will be working from home for a few days

(Newser) - Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin was released from Walter Reed National Military Medical Center on Tuesday, ending his second stay since surgery to treat prostate cancer, and he has resumed his full duties, the Pentagon said. Austin, 70, has had ongoing health issues since undergoing surgery in December. He was taken...

Defense Chief Offers Public Mea Culpa
Defense Chief Admits
His Mistake
Feb 1, 2024 11:39 AM CST

Defense Chief Admits His Mistake

'I should have told the president about my cancer,' says Lloyd Austin

(Newser) - Defense chief Lloyd Austin swears he's learned his lesson. In his first press conference since a hospital stay he kept secret , Austin issued a mea culpa for not being more forthcoming:
  • '"I want to be crystal clear: We did not handle this right. I did not handle this
...

Special Request in Lloyd Austin's 911 Call: Be 'Subtle'
911 Call for
Lloyd Austin
Is Out
Jan 17, 2024 7:21 AM CST

911 Call for Lloyd Austin Is Out

Aide asked for ambulance heading to defense secretary's home to be 'subtle' about it

(Newser) - Lloyd Austin was released from Walter Reed hospital on Monday, two weeks after being secretly admitted for complications following surgery for prostate cancer. Now, audio is out of the call requesting an ambulance be sent to the defense secretary's Virginia home on New Year's Day, with a special...

Lloyd Austin Ends a Much Scrutinized Hospital Stay

Defense secretary is discharged from Walter Reed after 2 weeks, will work from home for now

(Newser) - Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin was released from the hospital Monday, after spending two weeks there to treat complications from surgery for prostate cancer he kept secret from senior Biden administration leaders and staff for weeks. He is expected to work from home as he recovers, reports the AP . Austin, 70,...

Pentagon Watchdog to Investigate Austin Controversy

Defense chief failed to disclose his hospitalization

(Newser) - The Pentagon's internal watchdog said Thursday he will review the secrecy surrounding Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin's hospitalization and why the Defense Department waited days to inform the White House that he had transferred authority to his deputy. Austin, 70, is still in the hospital being treated for complications...

Ex-Pentagon Chief Panetta on Austin Incident: 'Serious Risk'

Defense secretary's secrecy over hospitalization, subject of a formal inquiry, remains in the spotlight

(Newser) - Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin is continuing to work from Walter Reed National Military Medical Center on what's now the 11th day of his current hospitalization. Meanwhile, a storm continues to brew over the failure of the secretary, second in the line of military command, to notify officials that he...

Biden Won't Accept Austin's Resignation, Aides Say

Defense secretary also was hospitalized in December without telling White House, Pentagon says

(Newser) - The Pentagon has said Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin does not plan to offer the president his resignation, and several Biden administration officials said he wouldn't accept it anyway. Austin is in hot water for not telling a long list of people who might need to know that he was...

Biden Didn't Know About Defense Chief's Ailment for 3 Days

Pentagon didn't immediately inform White House Lloyd Austin was in the hospital

(Newser) - The White House press corps and members of Congress are miffed they didn't know defense chief Lloyd Austin was in the hospital . But Politico reports a remarkable addendum to that: President Biden himself didn't know for three days that his secretary was out of action. The outlet says...

Questions Arise Over 'Evolving Situation' With Defense Secretary

Lloyd Austin's hospitalization on Jan. 1 for complications following surgery was kept quiet

(Newser) - Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin is already home after being hospitalized most of the week—except almost no one knew he'd been hospitalized in the first place. The Pentagon announced Friday that Austin, 70, checked into Walter Reed National Military Medical Center on New Year's Day, after he suffered...

Ash Carter Oversaw Big Changes to US Military
Ash Carter Oversaw
Big Changes to US Military
OBITUARY
Oct 25, 2022 11:28 AM CDT

Ash Carter Oversaw Big Changes to US Military

Former defense secretary dies of heart attack at age 68

(Newser) - Ash Carter, who as defense secretary in the final two years of the Obama administration opened military combat jobs to women and ended a ban on transgender people serving in the military, has died at age 68. Carter died after suffering a heart attack on Monday evening, according a statement...

Ex-DOD Chief Esper Writes of 'Surreal' Incident With Trump

Former defense secretary writes in memoir that Trump wanted to shoot George Floyd protesters

(Newser) - Mark Esper was fired as defense secretary by then-President Trump shortly after the 2020 election. But while Esper's stint heading up the Pentagon was short—he'd been sworn in during the summer of 2019—he was still witness to some notable events in his time under No. 45,...

Trump's Ex-DOD Chief Sues Pentagon Over Memoir

Mark Esper says Defense Department is blocking parts of his manuscript it thought were 'too candid'

(Newser) - Mark Esper's memoir, A Sacred Oath, is due out in May from William Morrow, but readers may not see everything he originally included in its pages, thanks to the Pentagon. The former defense secretary in the Trump administration is now suing the agency he once led, claiming that sections...

At Elizabeth Holmes' Trial, a Familiar but Unexpected Face

Ex-SecDef James Mattis testified that former Theranos CEO misled him on blood-testing tech

(Newser) - Former US Secretary of Defense James Mattis testified Wednesday in the trial of fallen tech star Elizabeth Holmes, saying the entrepreneur misled him into believing she was on the verge of rolling out a blood-testing breakthrough that he hoped would help save lives of troops in battle. Mattis' appearance came...

Donald Rumsfeld Dead at 88
Donald Rumsfeld Dies
OBITUARY
Jun 30, 2021 3:28 PM CDT

Donald Rumsfeld Dies

Defense secretary under 2 presidents never expressed regrets over Iraq war

(Newser) - Donald Rumsfeld, the oldest—and youngest—defense secretary in American history, has died. Relatives said in a statement Wednesday that the 88-year-old "was surrounded by family in his beloved Taos, New Mexico," the AP reports. A family spokesman says the cause was multiple myeloma. Rumsfeld, who grew up...

US Has Its First Black Defense Secretary

Lloyd Austin wins confirmation to run the Pentagon

(Newser) - Lloyd J. Austin, a West Point graduate who rose to the Army's elite ranks and marched through racial barriers in a 41-year career, won Senate confirmation Friday to become the nation's first Black secretary of defense, per the AP . The 93-2 vote gave President Biden his second Cabinet...

Biden Asks Trump Holdover to Run Pentagon, Temporarily

David Norquist will run Pentagon until Biden pick Lloyd Austin is confirmed

(Newser) - The history books will reflect that Joe Biden's very first defense secretary was an appointee of Donald Trump. But David Norquist will not be in the role very long. Politico reports that Biden will ask Norquist, who currently serves as deputy secretary of defense, to run the Pentagon until...

From All 10 Ex-Defense Secretaries, an 'Exceptional' Op-Ed

They note Biden has won, warn the military has no place getting involved in any election disputes

(Newser) - "The time for questioning the results has passed; the time for the formal counting of the electoral college votes, as prescribed in the Constitution and statute, has arrived." So reads an unusual op-ed that appeared Sunday in the Washington Post , co-signed by all 10 living ex-defense secretaries. The...

Biden's Pentagon Pick Already Controversial

Lloyd Austin is only recently retired from the military

(Newser) - President-elect Biden will nominate retired four-star Army general Lloyd J. Austin to be secretary of defense, according to four people familiar with the decision who spoke to the AP . If confirmed by the Senate, Austin would be the first Black leader of the Pentagon. Biden selected Austin over the longtime...

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