Austin was hospitalized for problems related to his treatment for the cancer

What Has Happened to Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin? A Timing Remark on the Public’s Choice of Secretary of Defense, Dean Zients, and the White House

In order to evaluate the current procedures of all departments, Mr. Zients told them to send him their current procedures by Friday. The cabinet member should have power transferred if he or she was going to be hospitalized, needing general anesthesia or travelling in areas with no access to communication.

While the review is underway, Ms. Magsamen directed that if the secretary’s power is delegated again, his office should notify the chairman and vice chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, the combatant commanders, service secretaries and chiefs of staff, the Pentagon general counsel, senior aides to the secretary and his deputy and the White House Situation Room.

The Defense Department has ordered its own 30-day review of what happened and how its procedures should be changed if necessary. In another memo obtained by The Times, Kelly E. Magsamen, Mr. Austin’s chief of staff, on Monday ordered Jennifer Walsh, the department’s administration and management director, “to identify the relevant facts and circumstances during this period and evaluate the processes and procedures through which the deputy secretary of defense was notified that she should carry out the functions and duties of the secretary of defense.”

Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin was treated for prostate cancer, which was identified last month, Walter Reed National Military Medical Center said in a statement, and complications from that procedure led to his hospitalization on New Year’s Day. The White House claimed that President Biden was only told of Austin’s illness Tuesday morning.

Kirby said Biden and national security adviser Jake Sullivan did not know Austin was in the hospital. The two men spoke Saturday, Kirby said, but haven’t spoken since then.

Austin released a statement Saturday night that said he knows he could have done a better job of ensuring the public was informed. I commit to doing better. This is important because it shows that this was my procedure and that I took full responsibility for my decisions about disclosure.

The secrecy surrounding Austin’s hospitalization prompted the White House to take a hard look at rules for Cabinet members, according to a memo obtained by NPR.

It is not ideal for a situation like this to go on as long as the leader of the nation is unaware, or the national security adviser is unaware. That’s not the way this is supposed to happen.”

A letter to the editor: A United States senator’s response to the congressional inquiry into the treatment of prostate cancer in Austin’s critical condition

The statement said changes in his laboratory evaluation in early December identified the cancer which had to be treated. After consultation with his medical team, on December 22, 2023, he underwent a minimally invasive surgical procedure to treat and cure prostrate cancer.

The surgical removal of the prostrate glands is called a PSA. Sometimes it is done in a minimally intrusive manner using a robot to help the surgeon do his job better. Despite the Walter Reed statement that Austin “required treatment,” the Pentagon has continued to call Austin’s procedure “elective.”

The following day, Austin was transferred to the intensive care unit, where he was found to have abdominal fluid collections that impaired the function of his small intestines, according to the statement.

“I’m glad he’s getting it addressed. I just wish that he had been more forthcoming about it,” he said. I think it’s essential in a position like that. And … we didn’t see that. It raises a lot of questions about his position because of the country’s national security interests.