Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin is addressing a secretive hospital stay.
During a press conference on Thursday, Austin noted he is “recovering well” from surgery to treat prostate cancer that took place in December.
He then addressed the failure to properly notify the White House and President Joe Biden of his hospitalization in January after he experienced severe pain as result of an infection.
“I want to be crystal clear, we did not handle this right, and I did not handle this right. I should’ve told the president about my cancer diagnosis. I should’ve also told my team and the American public,” the Defense secretary said.
He added, “And I take full responsibility. I apologize to my teammates and to the American people.”
Austin insisted there were no gaps in authority or “risk to the department’s command and control.” He shared new measures have been implemented to ensure such incidents do not occur again.
Watch the video below:
Defense Secretary Austin on his first major address since his hospital stay:
— Townhall.com (@townhallcom) February 1, 2024
"We did not handle this right, and I did not handle this right. I should’ve told the president about my cancer diagnosis. I should’ve also told my team and the American public. And I take full… pic.twitter.com/XWDRGPh4O6
Austin explained the lapse in notification on the “gut-punch” he received from his prostate cancer diagnosis. He added, “Frankly, my first instinct was to keep it private.”
However, he said, “I’ve learned from this experience that taking this kind of job means losing some of the privacy that most of us expect. The American people have a right to know if their leaders are facing health challenges that might affect their ability to perform their duties even temporarily. So a wider circle should have been notified, especially the president.”
Later in the press conference, a reporter asked, “Anyone else within the military chain of command would’ve faced reprimand or even dismissal. Why shouldn’t that same standard apply to you?”
Austin thanked the reporter, then repeated, “We didn’t get this right.”
He also added a review of the incident is underway that will reveal why the White House was not notified of his hospitalization.
