WASHINGTON (NewsNation) — The Defense Department’s inspector general’s office said Thursday it will begin a review this month of the handling of Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin’s recent hospitalization.
Robert Storch, the inspector general, said in a memo addressed to Austin, Deputy Defense Secretary Kathleen Hicks and other officials, that it will examine “the roles, processes, procedures, responsibilities, and actions related to the Secretary of Defense’s hospitalization.”
Additionally, the memo said it would “assess whether the DoD’s policies and procedures are sufficient to ensure timely and appropriate notifications and the effective transition of authorities as may be warranted due to health-based or other unavailability of senior leadership.”
Storch said his team would perform its work “at the Office of the Secretary of Defense,” but “may identify additional offices and personnel who might have information relevant to our review.”
Austin, 70, underwent a “minimally invasive” surgical procedure to treat and cure prostate cancer on Dec. 22.
He returned home the next morning, according to a statement from officials at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center. The cancer was detected early, and his prognosis is “excellent,” officials said. However, on Jan. 1, Austin was again admitted to the hospital after complications from the procedure in December, including nausea as well as severe abdominal, hip and leg pain. An initial evaluation showed he had a urinary tract infection, the statement said.
Then, on Jan.2, he was transferred to the intensive care unit.
The infection has since cleared, the statement said, and Austin continues to make progress.
Maj. Gen. Pat Ryder, the Pentagon press secretary, said at a news conference Tuesday afternoon that Austin is still in the hospital.
The Pentagon came under fire for not disclosing information regarding Austin’s hospitalization and communication lapse that left top Pentagon officials and the White House uninformed for days.
The White House was not told he was in the hospital until Jan. 4., and it was only Tuesday morning that Biden learned about Austin’s prostate cancer diagnosis, NSC spokesperson John Kirby said.
A Pentagon spokesman pointed to one reason: A key staffer was out sick with the flu.
When asked about why it took so long for the public to be notified about Austin’s condition, Ryder said, “despite the frequency of prostate cancer, discussions about screening, treatment and support are often deeply personal and private ones.”
Some Republicans have criticized Austin and demanded his resignation.
Austin being “in so much pain that he must be removed from his residence by an ambulance, taken to a hospital and put in the Intensive Care Unit, that is not a minor occurrence,” Sen. Roger Wicker, R-Miss., said during a meeting on Austin’s health Thursday. “It is an occurrence of such magnitude and importance and seriousness that certainly key members of the Department, including his own deputy, should be notified.”
“If any security crisis had occurred last week, no one would have known where to find Secretary Austin. Our secretary of defense failed to notify the president, he failed to notify Congress, he failed to notify his subordinates or the National Security Council,” said Republican Sen. Deb Fisher of Nebraska.
Meanwhile, the Pentagon said he has no plans to step down. White House officials on Monday emphasized that Austin retains Biden’s confidence. White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said Biden appreciated Austin’s statement on Saturday, in which he took responsibility for the lack of transparency.
Austin sits just below Biden at the top of the U.S. military’s chain of command. His duties require him to be available at a moment’s notice to respond to any national security crisis.
Austin also transferred some of his authority to Deputy Defense Secretary Kathleen Hicks after being taken back to Walter Reed National Military Medical Center on Jan. 1.
Austin, who resumed his duties on Jan. 5, is no longer in intensive care.