President Biden said his defense secretary made an error in judgment in not keeping the White House informed of his hospitalization. But keeping a low profile has long defined the Pentagon chief.
The Pentagon took days to tell the White House that the defense secretary had been hospitalized, raising grave questions about national security and the chain of command.
The defense secretary was admitted at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center on Jan. 1 with severe abdominal, hip and leg pain after a minor procedure the week before, officials said.