An aide to Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin asked for subtlety when making a 911 call seeking an ambulance for the Biden Cabinet official at his residence on New Year’s Day, according to a new report.
The request was revealed on Tuesday by The Daily Beast, which obtained a recording of the call through a Freedom of Information Act request in Virginia, as multiple inquiries get underway looking into Austin’s secretive hospitalization for complications following a December procedure to treat prostate cancer.
“Can I ask — can the ambulance not show up with lights and sirens? Uhm, we’re trying to remain a little subtle,” the aide said in the January 1 call. In reply, the dispatcher said ambulances would “usually” turn lights and sirens off when entering a residential neighborhood but are required by law to use them on main streets.
The Daily Beast also reported that the caller, whose name was redacted, said Austin was not experiencing any chest pain at the time, did not pass out or feel like he was going to pass out, and was alert and not confused. Other details were also withheld, including Austin’s name and title, but the news outlet noted that it assessed the defense secretary was involved based on the time and location.
Austin, 70, faced blowback when it emerged that many top officials, including President Joe Biden and the deputy who took on some of his duties, were not privy to his health situation for days, if not weeks.
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Lawmakers on both sides of the aisle and former President Donald Trump have called for Austin to resign or be fired over the defense secretary’s secretive hospital stay. Several investigations, including a probe by the Department of Defense’s inspector general, a White House review of Cabinet protocols, and an inquiry in the GOP-led House, have been announced over the past week.
The Department of Defense announced on Monday that Austin was being released from the hospital, ending a roughly two-week stay at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center. Austin said he would continue to perform his duties from home as he recuperates.
White House officials insisted last week that Biden has “complete confidence” in Austin, who has said he takes responsibility for the lack of disclosure, and the president plans to keep the secretary in place through the remainder of his term despite it being “not optimal” that the commander-in-chief and other leaders did not know what happened for so long.