White House refuses to ‘GPS track’ cabinet members despite Austin lapse

The White House has said it will not "GPS track" cabinet members' locations after it emerged that Joe Biden was unaware of Lloyd Austin's recent hospitalisation for several days.

Responding to a question from The Independent White House correspondent Andrew Feinberg, National Security Council spokesperson John Kirby said: "We’re not going to track the GPS coordinates on somebody’s mobile phone in the administration.

“We’re not going to plant a microchip in their neck like they're a poodle.”

The White House and the Pentagon have said they will review why the president and other top officials were kept in the dark about the defence secretary's hospitalisation.