Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin discloses illness that has kept him hospitalized

WASHINGTON – Facing a fury of questions about Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin's illness, the Pentagon finally disclosed Tuesday that he has been hospitalized since Jan. 1 because of complications from prostate cancer surgery.

The surgery resulted in a severe infection that has hospitalized him at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center, according to a statement from his doctors released by the Pentagon.

Austin's surgery took place Dec. 22, was minimally invasive and uneventful, but he was under general anesthesia, according to the statement from his doctors, John Maddox and Gregory Chestnut. "The cancer was detected early and his prognosis is excellent," the doctors said.

Austin, 70, returned home Dec. 23. But on New Years Day, he had severe hip and leg pain and nausea, which led to his return to the hospital in an ambulance. He has remained in the hospital since Jan. 1.

Austin’s failure to promptly disclose his subsequent hospitalization has created a firestorm of criticism and put the White House on the defensive.

The Defense Department didn't alert the White House that Austin was in the hospital until three days after he was admitted and didn't make the information public until late last Friday, the day after the White House was notified. Even then the Pentagon did not divulge − to the president or the public − the nature of his illness.

The White House said President Joe Biden was informed of Austin's prostate cancer diagnosis on Tuesday by White House Chief of Staff Jeff Zients.

"Nobody at the White House knew that Secretary Austin had prostate cancer until this morning. And the president was informed immediately after we were informed," White House spokesman John Kirby said.

The statement released Tuesday is the first to describe the procedure he underwent and the subsequent complications.

The initial evaluation on Jan. 1 revealed a urinary tract infection, according to his doctors’ statement. On Jan. 2, he was moved to the intensive care unit where further evaluation found a buildup of fluid impairing his small intestines. The fluids were drained without surgery and his infection has cleared.

Austin never lost consciousness and never underwent general anesthesia, the doctors' statement said.

“He continues to make progress, and we anticipate a full recovery although this can be a slow process,” the doctors’ statement said.

The Pentagon's press secretary, Air Force Maj. Gen. Pat Ryder, told reporters Tuesday that the nature of Austin’s illness was behind his reluctance to release information about it.

“Prostate cancer and the associated procedures are obviously deeply personal," Ryder said.

But questions persisted about the lack of disclosure.

Pressed about why Biden wasn't informed earlier, Kirby acknowledged that "it is not optimal for a situation like this to go as long as it did without the commander-in-chief knowing about it or the national security adviser knowing about it, or frankly other leaders at the Department of Defense."

"It's not the way this is supposed to happen," he said.

Austin takes responsibility for failing to disclose his illness but plans to stay in the job, said Ryder, the Defense department's spokesman.

“He’s not planning on resigning,” Ryder said.

White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said Biden continues to have "complete confidence in the secretary."

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White House to review notification procedures

Meanwhile, the White House on Tuesday launched a review of the notification procedures that Cabinet secretaries must follow if they're unable to perform their duties.

Zients sent a memo, obtained by USA TODAY, to Cabinet secretaries asking them to notify the White House in writing by Friday of any existing procedures for delegating authority if a Cabinet member is incapacitated or otherwise unable to do his or her job.

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While the review is underway, Zients' memo spells out a set of protocols that Cabinet agencies must undertake in the event that a delegation of authority is required or anticipated.

Those protocols include notifying the chief of staff's office and the offices of Cabinet affairs in the event of a delegation or potential delegation of authority.

Agencies must ensure that a delegation of authority is issued when a Cabinet member is undergoing hospitalization or a medical procedure requiring general anesthesia – or in any other circumstance when he or she may be unreachable, the memo says.

Tom Vanden Brook covers the Pentagon, and Michael Collins covers the White House. Follow Vanden Brook on X, formerly Twitter, @tvandenbrook and Collins @mcollinsNEWS.

Contributing: Francesca Chambers and Joey Garrison

Recovering: US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin has been hospitalized since Jan. 1, Pentagon announces

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin has prostate cancer: Pentagon