US President Joe Biden was only put on notice on Tuesday morning that Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin, who was criticised for secretly staying in hospital last week, had been diagnosed with prostate cancer, the White House said.
White House National Security Council spokesman John Kirby told reporters:
“Nobody in the White House knew that Secretary Austin had prostate cancer until this morning, and the president was informed immediately after. He (Biden) was not informed until last Friday that Secretary Austin was in the hospital. He was not informed until this morning that the root cause of that hospitalization was prostate cancer.”
Asked if the president plans to stick with Austin through the rest of the term, Kirby responded: “Yes.”
Speaking about Biden’s reaction, Kirby said:
“His first reaction was — we all want to wish him the very best. Sadly, this is a disease that affects many millions of American men. We’re all going to learn a whole heck of a lot of lessons from this past week.”
Austin was admitted to Walter Reed National Military Medical Centre in Maryland on December 22 and underwent a minimally invasive surgery called a prostatectomy to treat prostate cancer. The statement said:
“He was under general anesthesia during this procedure. Secretary Austin recovered uneventfully from his surgery and returned home the next morning. His prostate cancer was detected early, and his prognosis is excellent.”
The Pentagon released a statement Friday saying Austin had been hospitalised for four days beginning Jan. 1.
Spokesman Pat Ryder said Austin was hospitalised “due to complications from a recent routine medical procedure”.
Ryder did not provide details, saying only that Austin is “recovering well and expects to return to duty today.” He reiterated on Tuesday that Austin “currently remains at Walter Reed National Military Medical Centre Hospital and is in good condition.”
Although Mr. Biden has been described as understanding, people close to the White House describe deep frustration and bewilderment among some members of the president’s team. Mr. Austin, a low-key retired general, does not have a particularly close relationship with Mr. Biden or his team, but he is liked and deeply respected, making the situation even more frustrating for them.
White House officials had been seeking more details from the Pentagon about the medical issues for days and were stunned that it had taken so long. The defence secretary’s secrecy has unwittingly given critics a reason to accuse Mr. Biden of not being in full control of his administration and raised questions about how the 81-year-old president will handle his health crisis.
