Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin underwent surgery in December 2023 for prostate cancer, the U.S. Department of Defense disclosed on Jan. 9.
Doctors from Walter Reed National Military Medical Center in Bethesda, Maryland, identified the cancer through laboratory tests in early December. They decided to perform an operation to treat and cure it. Mr. Austin went to the center on Dec. 22 and underwent a “minimally invasive surgical procedure” to treat and cure prostate cancer, the doctors said. He was under general anesthesia.
Mr. Austin was released the following day.
After experiencing complications including severe abdominal pain, Mr. Austin returned to the hospital on Jan. 1. Doctors diagnosed a urinary tract infection and transferred him to the intensive care unit for close monitoring. Additional evaluation revealed fluid had collected in his abdomen, which affected his small intestines and resulted in a backup of intestinal content. Doctors placed a tube through Mr. Austin’s nose and drained the fluid.
Since then, Mr. Austin has “progressed steadily,” said Dr. John Maddox, trauma medical director, and Dr. Gregory Chesnut, a urology specialist, in a joint statement. The infection has cleared and Mr. Austin is expected to fully recover, “although this can be a slow process,” they said.
Mr. Austin was still hospitalized, in good condition, as of Jan. 9. He has been working, according to military officials.
Prostate cancer refers to cancer that starts in the prostate, a male organ. It affects about 288,000 men per year and has a five-year survival rate of 97 percent, according to the National Cancer Institute.
President Joe Biden did not learn of the cancer diagnosis until Tuesday, John Kirby, a White House spokesman, told reporters in Washington.
“Nobody at the White House knew Secretary Austin had prostate cancer until this morning,” Mr. Kirby said.
Mr. Kirby declined to detail the president’s reaction to the update.
Mr. Austin did not inform the White House of his surgery and did not notify the White House of his second hospitalization until Jan. 4, three days after it began, according to the U.S. Department of Defense.
Mr. Austin has said he is responsible for the delay in notification, though the Pentagon has blamed the secretary’s chief of staff being ill.
“I am very glad to be on the mend and look forward to returning to the Pentagon soon. I also understand the media concerns about transparency and I recognize I could have done a better job ensuring the public was appropriately informed. I commit to doing better,” Mr. Austin said in a statement.
The Pentagon has ordered a review of what happened, including the delay, and the White House this week ordered cabinet heads to notify the White House when they are delegating duties or if they might have to delegate.
“Agencies should ensure that delegations are issued when a cabinet member is traveling to areas with limited or no access to communication, undergoing hospitalization or a medical procedure requiring general anesthesia, or otherwise in a circumstance when he or she may be unreachable,” Jeffrey Zients, the White House chief of staff, said in a memorandum.
Mr. Austin delegated duties to Kathleen Hicks, the deputy secretary of defense, on Jan. 2. Ms. Hicks was not informed of the hospitalization until Jan. 4, according to the Pentagon.
The public was not informed about the hospitalization until Jan. 5, the same day he resumed his duties.
Mr. Austin has been the only defense secretary to serve under the Biden administration.
The White House has said it supports Mr. Austin and would not accept his resignation if it were offered.
“The president respects the fact that Secretary Austin took ownership for the lack of transparency. He also respects the amazing job he’s done as defense secretary and how he’s handled multiple crises over the last almost three years now,” White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said.
Some lawmakers say he must be removed, one way or another.
“Secretary Austin went AWOL and failed to inform the president, Congress, or the National Security Council about his extended hospitalization, jeopardizing our national security,” Rep. Claudia Tenney (R-N.Y.) said in a statement. “Our soldiers ... can’t go AWOL like Secretary Austin did without informing their superiors. Secretary Austin must resign or face impeachment!”
Rep. Matt Rosendale (R-Mont.) introduced an impeachment resolution this week, which could lead to Mr. Austin being impeached.
“Secretary Austin and his chief of staff displayed terrible judgement in failing to disclose his hospitalization. One or both of them need to resign for this coverup,” Sen. Tom Cotton (R-Ark.) said in a statement.
Some Democrats have also criticized the lack of transparency, though none have yet appeared to offer support for ousting the defense secretary.
The Pentagon did not respond to a request for comment on the resolution.
The review that has been ordered “will help us get to ground truth in a holistic way,” Pentagon spokesman Maj. Gen. Pat Ryder told reporters on Tuesday. “So that we can learn from it importantly, but also ensure that we’re doing better next time. So I think we really need to allow this review to run its course in order to do that.”
Mr. Ryder said he did not know why Mr. Austin decided against disclosing the hospitalization in a more rapid fashion.
