PHOTO: President Joe Biden speaks during a cabinet meeting at the White House, Jan. 5, 2023. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin listens at right. (AP Photo/Patrick Semansky)
The reason for U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin’s undisclosed hospital stay has finally been revealed after fueling days of questions about transparency and competency in the Biden administration.
The Pentagon announced Tuesday that the 70-year-old Austin is being treated for prostate cancer. It’s the first time the public or even President Biden has been made aware of Austin’s condition after he was in the ICU for days without telling the White House.
The president is the Commander in Chief of the U.S. military, and all of his military orders travel through the Defense Secretary before they can be executed by military commanders. The dayslong breach in the chain of command has caused a major controversy in Washington.
“It’s highly unusual for any Cabinet secretary not to notify the president, the White House chief of staff, or the NSC of any absence, especially a medical one,” explained Cedric Leighton, a retired U.S. Air Force colonel.
The Defense Secretary was admitted to Walter Reed National Military Medical Center on Dec. 22 and underwent surgery to treat the
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