Pentagon officials also failed for two days last week to notify Austin’s second-in-command that he had transferred authority to her while he was in the ICU, and while she was in Puerto Rico.
That's the real goof. I don't really see a problem with the secdef being hospitalized and not immediately notifying the President. They need DoD stuff, they call on him, and if he's not available, for any reason, it should immediately fall to the deputy. The White House staff, and especially the deputy, should have been told.
Ultimately this just seems to have been a breakdown in communication, but even if war were declared, I don't think it would have been a significant issue. This is media hype bs to distract from real issues.