Alabama Republican Sen. Tommy Tuberville is blocking the promotion of an Army general over the role he allegedly played in hiding Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin's hospitalization nearly nine months ago.
Lt. Gen. Ronald P. Clark, 58, has been nominated to become the four-star commander of all U.S. Army forces in the Pacific.
Clark was Austin's senior military assistant when the defense secretary underwent surgery on Dec. 22 to treat prostate cancer and was admitted to intensive care a week later after having developed severe complications from the procedure.
It emerged later that Clark and other senior members of Austin's staff did not know about his cancer diagnosis and surgery until he was in intensive care on Jan. 2. Once made aware, they then withheld that information from President Joe Biden and senior White House officials for two more days, The Washington Post reported.
Austin, who turned 71 last month, spent about two weeks in the hospital and eventually was diagnosed with infections in his urinary tract and bladder. He later said he took "full responsibility" for secrecy surrounding the hospitalization.
Tuberville, a member of Senate Armed Services Committee, is preventing Clark's nomination from coming up for a vote in the chamber.
The senator's spokeswoman told The Washington Post that Tuberville is awaiting the results of a Defense Department inspector general review of the incident concerning Austin's hospitalization in December and January.
"Sen. Tuberville has concerns about Lt. Gen. Clark's actions during Secretary Austin's hospitalization," Mallory Jaspers told The Post in a statement.
"Lt. Gen. Clark knew that Sec. Austin was incapacitated and did not tell the Commander in Chief. As a senior commissioned officer, Lt. Gen. Clark's oath requires him to notify POTUS [the president] when the chain of command is compromised."
CNN reported that a source said Clark's nomination could still be resolved with procedural motions.
After the Pentagon in February released a classified review of the events surrounding Austin's hospitalization due to complications from a procedure to treat prostate cancer, a bipartisan group of senators criticized the secretary and the Defense Department for the handling of the situation.
Last year, Tuberville held up hundreds of military promotions unless the Pentagon changed its abortion policy. He eventually relented.
Charlie McCarthy ✉
Charlie McCarthy, a writer/editor at Newsmax, has nearly 40 years of experience covering news, sports, and politics.
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