Biden is under pressure to fire the defense chief who kept him in the dark about his hospital stay.

Lloyd Austin, 70, was hospitalized on New Year's Day with «complications» at the Pentagon. after a recent elective surgery. Photo: Getty Images North America

Joe Biden is under growing pressure to fire his defense chief Lloyd Austin after he kept the US president in the dark about his hospitalization for four days.

< p>The 70-year-old Austin, who was still in the hospital on Sunday, was admitted on New Year's Day with what the Pentagon said were «complications» from recent elective surgery.

But the White House was not informed of his absence until 4 January, while Mr. Austin's deputy, Kathleen Hicks, was herself on vacation in Puerto Rico.

Calls for a replacement Defense Secretary

The apparent lapse resulted as the war continues to rage in Gaza and Ukraine and is putting pressure on the White House to take action and Republicans calling for the defense secretary to be replaced.

“If this report is true, this is a shocking disaster there have to be consequences,” said Arkansas Sen. Tom Cotton.

Jim Banks, R-S.C., added that Austin “has been a disaster since day one.”

>Available anytime < p>The Secretary of Defense sits just below Biden at the top of the US military's chain of command, and his duties require him to be available at a moment's notice to respond to any national security crisis.

While he and his deputy were away from the Pentagon, the US military launched an airstrike in Baghdad, killing the leader of an Iranian-backed militia.

Mike Pence, a former vice president, told CNN it was a «dereliction of duty.» Photo: Getty Images

It remains unclear to what extent his responsibilities were delegated to Ms. Hicks, or whether Mr. Austin was involved in any key decisions during his absence.

Ms. Hicks herself was not informed of the reason she came forward. replaces her boss, CNN reports.

But the top Republican on the Senate Armed Services Committee, Senator Roger Wicker, accused the Pentagon of failing to promptly brief Congress on such matters as required by law.< /p>

He added that the episode further undermined public confidence in the Biden administration, citing past failures to quickly disclose information about national security incidents, including the sighting of a Chinese spy balloon over the United States last year.

“ When one of the nation's two national command authorities is unable to carry out its duties, military families, members of Congress and the American public deserve to know the full extent of the circumstances,” Mr. Wicker said in a statement.

' Failure to fulfill duties'

Mike Pence, the former vice president, told CNN: “To think that while we have allies fighting in Eastern Europe and here in Israel, the leader of the American military in the Pentagon would be out of action for months. days, and the President of the United States did not know about it.

“I believe this was a dereliction of duty, and the Secretary of State and the Administration, frankly, need to step up and give the American people the facts.”

“It’s incredible,” Jeff Lord, who worked in the Reagan White House, told The Telegraph. “I can’t imagine how no one in the White House knew he was in the hospital and not at work. The President should have been informed.

“This is outrageous irresponsibility. For starters, we live in the nuclear age, and given what's happening in Ukraine and Israel, the negligence is staggering.»

It's unclear when Mr. Austin was fired.

The Pentagon, which said Mr. Austin resumed full duties Friday and could not say when the Defense Secretary would be released from Walter Reed Hospital.

He also declined to release details about Mr. Austin's medical condition other than to say there were complications following a routine procedure.

Even though Ms. Hicks was in Puerto Rico, she remained in full contact with the Pentagon, a Defense Department spokesman said, trying to contain the political fallout.

They added that Mr. Austin spoke with the president on Saturday for the first time since he was admitted to the hospital.

US officials, speaking on condition of anonymity, said Mr Biden retained full confidence in his defense chief.

Mr Austin takes 'full responsibility'

An embarrassed Mr Austin said he took full responsibility for happened.

“I also understand the media's concerns about transparency and recognize that I could do a better job of ensuring the public is properly informed. I promise to do better,” he said.

“But it is important to say: this was my medical procedure, and I take full responsibility for my decisions to disclose information.”