WASHINGTON — Senior Biden administration leaders, top Pentagon officials and members of Congress were unaware for days that Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin was hospitalized since Monday, U.S. officials said Saturday, as questions swirled about his condition and the secrecy surrounding it. A number of U.S. officials said Saturday that many of the most senior Pentagon service leaders were unaware until Friday that Austin was in the hospital. Deputy Defense Secretary Kathleen Hicks, who took over when Austin was hospitalized, also was away. "The Department of Defense deliberately withheld the Secretary of Defense's medical condition for days. The Pentagon Press Association, which represents media members who cover the Defense Department, sent a letter of protest on Friday evening to Ryder and Chris Meagher, the assistant defense secretary for public affairs.
