This is the best summary I could come up with:
U.S. Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin remained in the hospital on Sunday as more details emerged about key decision-makers, even President Joe Biden, being kept in the dark for days that the Pentagon chief had been in the intensive care unit at Walter Reed Army Medical Center.
The Pentagon's failure to disclose Austin's hospitalization, particularly at a time when the United States is juggling myriad national security crises, runs counter to normal practice with the president and other senior U.S. officials and cabinet members.
Austin, 70, remained hospitalized due to complications following a minor elective medical procedure, his press secretary said, as it became increasingly clear how closely the Pentagon held information about his stay at Walter Reed.
Sen. Roger Wicker, the top-ranking Republican on the Senate armed services committee, said the episode erodes trust in the Biden administration, and he called on the department to provide lawmakers with a "full accounting of the facts immediately."
The Pentagon Press Association, which represents journalists who cover the Defence Department, sent a letter of protest on Friday evening, calling the delay in alerting the public "an outrage."
"At a time when there are growing threats to U.S. military service members in the Middle East and the U.S. is playing key national security roles in the wars in Israel and Ukraine, it is particularly critical for the American public to be informed about the health status and decision-making ability of its top Defence leader," the PPA said in its letter.
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