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Top Pentagon aide to leave months after Lloyd Austin medical controversy
Top Pentagon aide to leave months after Lloyd Austin medical controversy
Kelly Magsamen was a close adviser to the defense secretary but was criticized after failing to tell the White House Austin had been hospitalized.
By Dan Lamothe
June 5, 2024 at 1:14 p.m. EDT
Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, right, and his chief of staff, Kelly Magsamen, center, attend a meeting at the Pentagon in 2022. (U.S. Air Force Tech. Sgt. Jack Sanders/Office of the Secretary of Defense Public Affairs)
The chief of staff to Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin will step down, the Pentagon said Wednesday, months after she drew criticism for failing to inform the White House and Congress of Austin’s emergency hospitalization last winter.
Kelly Magsamen will depart at the end of June, Austin said in a statement expressing gratitude for her service over 3½ years. She has served beside him since the beginning of his tenure, a turbulent period that included the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan, Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and Israel’s war in Gaza.
Austin called her “the chief architect of every initiative I have launched.” His statement did not indicate why Magsamen was leaving, and attempts to reach her for comment were not immediately successful.
Magsamen, who rarely spoke publicly on Austin’s behalf, became mired in the political controversy that arose after it was revealed he had been diagnosed with prostate cancer in December and hospitalized in critical condition for days without President Biden being made aware.
{snip}
By Dan Lamothe
Dan Lamothe joined The Washington Post in 2014 to cover the U.S. military. He has written about the Armed Forces for more than 15 years, traveling extensively, embedding with five branches of service and covering combat in Afghanistan. Twitter https://twitter.com/danlamothe
Kelly Magsamen was a close adviser to the defense secretary but was criticized after failing to tell the White House Austin had been hospitalized.
By Dan Lamothe
June 5, 2024 at 1:14 p.m. EDT
Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, right, and his chief of staff, Kelly Magsamen, center, attend a meeting at the Pentagon in 2022. (U.S. Air Force Tech. Sgt. Jack Sanders/Office of the Secretary of Defense Public Affairs)
The chief of staff to Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin will step down, the Pentagon said Wednesday, months after she drew criticism for failing to inform the White House and Congress of Austin’s emergency hospitalization last winter.
Kelly Magsamen will depart at the end of June, Austin said in a statement expressing gratitude for her service over 3½ years. She has served beside him since the beginning of his tenure, a turbulent period that included the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan, Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and Israel’s war in Gaza.
Austin called her “the chief architect of every initiative I have launched.” His statement did not indicate why Magsamen was leaving, and attempts to reach her for comment were not immediately successful.
Magsamen, who rarely spoke publicly on Austin’s behalf, became mired in the political controversy that arose after it was revealed he had been diagnosed with prostate cancer in December and hospitalized in critical condition for days without President Biden being made aware.
{snip}
By Dan Lamothe
Dan Lamothe joined The Washington Post in 2014 to cover the U.S. military. He has written about the Armed Forces for more than 15 years, traveling extensively, embedding with five branches of service and covering combat in Afghanistan. Twitter https://twitter.com/danlamothe