Jake Tapper Confronts James Clyburn Over Lloyd Austin’s Failure to Disclose Hospitalization to the White House: ‘Is This Acceptable to You?’

CNN’s Jake Tapper questioned Congressman James Clyburn (D-SC) on the criticism Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin faces for keeping his hospitalization secret from the White House.

News broke last week that Austin recently had an elective medical procedure for an unspecified medical matter, but complications arose during the procedure — which led to him being admitted to Walter Reed National Military Medical Center’s intensive care unit on New Year’s Day. Reports indicate it took more than three days for the White House to hear from the Pentagon about Austin’s hospitalization. Austin released a statement to the media  — addressing criticisms about why the White House wasn’t informed sooner.

“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,” said Austin. “But this is important to say: this was my medical procedure, and I take full responsibility for my decisions about disclosure.”

The lack of transparency about Austin’s situation drew considerable outcry from journalists, many of whom noted the conflicts and national security issues that have been dominating international affairs. When Tapper spoke with Clyburn on Sunday’s edition of CNN’s State of the Union, he emphasized the “major military challenges” that the U.S. is currently dealing with in the middle of Austin’s non-disclosures.

“Is this acceptable to you?” Tapper asked.

The CNN anchor also noted that he just spoke to Mike Pence about this, and the former vice president called it a “dereliction of duty” on Austin’s part.

Clyburn’s answer:

I don’t think it’s a dereliction of duty. No, I don’t think that at all.

I do wish that it had been disclosed, and maybe it was. Maybe just not made public. So I don’t know all of the particulars yet. I do know Lloyd Austin. He’s a stand-up guy. He’s a great defense secretary. He has been a tremendous military man in this country. And I’m told he is now in charge of things as he was before the illness.

Now we have some laws in this country. The HIPAA laws. They keep us out of people’s medical businesses. And I do believe that this man has as much right to be protected by those laws, and be subjected to those laws, as everybody else. He does have a duty to keep the public informed and I don’t know that it was him or somebody inside of the military establishment that decided to do it this way, but I’m sure he will do a little better going forward as he said he would.

Watch above via CNN.