Moulton Statement on Pentagon's Lack of Transparency Surrounding Defense Secretary's Hospitalization

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Congressman Seth Moulton issued the following statement in reaction to reports that the Pentagon failed to take the adequate protocols to notify Congress, the President, and other high-ranking Department of Defense officials about Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin's recent hospitalization: 

“As a former Marine lieutenant, I cannot imagine something like this happening at the lowest level of our nation’s military chain of command. The fact that this occurred with the Secretary of Defense—and his own deputy, let alone the President, didn’t know—is astounding. The Commander in Chief needs to make immediate changes that send a decisive message that this will never happen again.”

Congressman Moulton sits on the House Armed Services Committee and is the Ranking Member of the Subcommittee on Strategic Forces.