![U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin speaks during a joint statement with his Israeli counterpart, Minister of Defence Yoav Gallant following their meeting at Ben Gurion International Airport in Thursday, March 9, 2023.](https://www.militarytimes.com/resizer/_aGTo9jHO8Gaz7UIZ3IFch8SYwY=/400x0/filters:format(jpg):quality(70)/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/archetype/7PQJQ74ECFGBHPBCPXMNVLTHDU.jpg)
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![U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin speaks during a joint statement with his Israeli counterpart, Minister of Defence Yoav Gallant following their meeting at Ben Gurion International Airport in Thursday, March 9, 2023.](https://www.militarytimes.com/resizer/_aGTo9jHO8Gaz7UIZ3IFch8SYwY=/400x0/filters:format(jpg):quality(70)/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/archetype/7PQJQ74ECFGBHPBCPXMNVLTHDU.jpg)
![Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin testifies before a Senate Appropriations Committee on Capitol Hill in Washington, Oct. 31, 2023.](https://www.militarytimes.com/resizer/_wWjwjf2wE21bpbA6Lf_Lj0ErBs=/400x0/filters:format(jpg):quality(70)/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/archetype/FWITDRDM7REBJOO5CJRJHSF5PI.jpg)
Why was Defense Secretary Austin’s hospital stay kept secret for days?
Members of Congress and Pentagon leaders were unaware for days that Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin had been hospitalized since Monday.
By Lolita C. Baldor, The Associated Press