Having a SecDef in the hospital isn't a big problem. There is of course a plan for that kind of event.
The really strange thing is that it's been kept secret.
On the radio this morning, they said the Deputy Secretary of Defense didn't know he was in the hospital because she was away on vacation. They also said his press secretary was home sick and didn't know. This is not some low level civil servant, this is the Secretary of Defense - and no one missed him during this period? I don't think this was anything diabolical, I think it's just another example of the total state of disarray that seems to be the norm with this administration. The man is in ICU and nobody thinks it's odd that no one has heard from him, or anyone around him?
“nobody thinks it’s odd that no one has heard from him, or anyone around him?”
Doesn’t the SecDef rate some sort of security detail? 🤔
The people (all the staff of the office of the SecDef including all the Deputy SecDefs and Assistant SecDefs) catering to the corner office knew full-well that he was missing. It was their duty to deal with his absence and for some strange reason they covered this story up.