The Pentagon's belated disclosure that Defense Secretary Lloyd J. Austin III was hospitalized twice without informing President Biden sparked a controversy that is unlikely to end quickly.
Austin's defenders argue that his absence had no real-world consequences. The Pentagon says his deputy, Kathleen Hicks, was in charge while he was off duty. And they point out that Austin has taken responsibility for the lapse.
But those excuses ignore an important element of this baffling episode. Austin made a serious political mistake: he made it appear that Biden was not exercising clear command over his cabinet.
The Secretary of Defense took his boss by surprise, a mistake that is serious in almost any organization, civilian or military.
Worse, especially in an election year, he played into a favorite anti-Biden narrative of Republicans: their accusation that the president is weak and ineffective.
Voters often say that when considering presidential candidates, they want a strong leader. Polls have found that former President Trump, the likely Republican nominee, leads Biden on that measure in the eyes of most Americans, fairly or not.
Austin inadvertently strengthened the GOP's argument. Biden's critics wasted no time using the cudgel he handed them.
“It raises questions about Joe Biden's competence, or whether he's really in charge in the White House,” said Sen. Tom Cotton of Arkansas, referring to Austin's AWOL episode. “If this administration hid a mere minor elective surgery for a Cabinet secretary, what could they be hiding about Joe Biden's health?”
That attack was not objective; There is no evidence that anyone other than Austin hid the surgery from him. But the fact that Austin kept his hospitalizations from the White House was bad enough.
“This was not a crime; It was a huge mistake,” said Peter Feaver, a civil-military relations expert at Duke University who served on the National Security Council staff in both Democratic and Republican administrations. “He interfered with the contrast the president is trying to draw between chaos and adult leadership”: Biden's claim that he returned competence and calm to the federal government, in contrast to the chaos of the Trump years.
As of Sunday, Austin was still at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center, nearly two weeks after being admitted for the second time. A Pentagon spokesman said he did not know why the secretary's hospital stay had been extended.
“I take full responsibility for my decisions regarding disclosure,” Austin said in a written statement from the hospital. “I recognize that I could have done a better job.”
Austin has been notoriously protective of his privacy. He keeps his public appearances to a minimum. He spends relatively little time with members of Congress. He stays away from the Pentagon press corps.
But those decisions have come at a price. The Secretary of Defense, a retired Army general, has proven to be politically tone deaf.
That weakness is not unknown among military officers. Political knowledge is not a core competency required in the infantry.
“Most generals, even smart and successful four-stars, have little experience navigating a strategic environment where everything is political,” said Rosa Brooks, a Georgetown professor who worked at the Pentagon during the Obama administration.
That's one of the reasons why six of the last 12 defense secretaries have been politicians. Only two have been career military officers: Austin and retired Marine Gen. James N. Mattis, who served during the Trump administration.
The White House made clear that, from its official point of view, Austin's lack of communication was a serious mistake.
“It is not optimal … for a situation like this to last this long,” National Security Council spokesman John F. Kirby said in a painfully understated rebuke.
But Kirby added that Biden has “full confidence” in Austin and does not plan to fire him.
Biden does not fire his subordinates frequently. His assistants say that he likes and admires Austin. And he doesn't need a distracting confirmation process for a new secretary during an election year.
But Austin has made him look like a weak and forgiving manager at a time when Biden is trying to present himself as a strong and decisive leader.
There is a partial remedy for this problem.
Austin should present his resignation to Biden, publicly, to make clear that he recognizes his mistake and that he did not intend to disrespect the president.
Biden can accept the resignation or reject it. It would give him a chance to show who's in charge.
Either way, the controversy won't go away overnight. The Pentagon has launched a 30-day review of what went wrong. Its inspector general has launched a separate investigation, which will take more time.
And members of Congress say they intend to hold hearings, which will focus primarily on whether the Pentagon's claim that there was never a problem in the chain of command holds up.
Austin may have to talk about his medical history more than he ever wanted to.
He deserves sympathy, of course, as a 70-year-old man facing a cancer diagnosis. But Biden also deserves sympathy. A president should not suffer unnecessary political harm thanks to one of his own appointees.
