The U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin was released from the hospital last Monday. This comes after he had earlier spent two weeks in the hospital. Austin had initially kept his two-week stay under wraps, which even the White House wasn’t aware of.
The 70-year-old senior White House official developed a severe infection following a surgical procedure to treat prostate cancer on Dec. 22, 2023. He was later admitted to the Walter Reed National Military Medical Center on Jan. 1. However, throughout his medical procedure, Austin didn’t inform the White House or Congress of his diagnosis, treatment, and return home.
Austin’s silence and failure to keep the Pentagon, the White House, and Congress in the loop about his health has triggered bipartisan criticism and several investigations. According to a statement from the Defense Department, Austin was discharged to recover fully in his home in Northern Virginia. Also, he will continue to work remotely before he’s fit to return full-time to his office in the Pentagon.
However, Austin’s doctors, John Maddox and Gregory Chesnut, said that he continues to experience “lingering leg pains.” They also added that Austin will continue to have physical therapy and frequent follow-up check-ups. The procedure was a success, and Austin is expected to recover fully quickly.
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Furthermore, Austin released a statement thanking the doctors and other medical staff at Walter Reed. “Now as I continue to recuperate and perform my duties from home, I’m eager to fully recover and return as quickly as possible to the Pentagon,” Austin said.
National Security Council spokesperson John Kirby also spoke to the press on the White House’s knowledge of Defense Secretary Aaron’s health. “Once we found out he was in the hospital, we certainly asked all the questions you think we would ask to try to ascertain his condition and what drove him to the hospital,” Kirby said.
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“Of course we were curious about that. He’s the secretary of defense, and he’s a key member of the administration. I would just tell you that, that effort to try to get more information was overt, and it was genuine, and it was certainly in the spirit of making sure that we understood what was going on with him in terms of his recovery.” He added.
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According to Kirby, it was up to the Pentagon to speak on the information flow both publicly and inside the chain of command. “But I can assure you that, throughout every step of the way, from the time we were notified until yesterday when we all found out that he had prostate cancer, there was no lack of curiosity on our part. No lack of or slackening of an effort to try to find out what was wrong with him.”
However, Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin’s chief of staff, Kelly Magsamen, has already ordered an investigation into the series of events. She ordered a 30-day review following bipartisan outrage over the secrecy surrounding Austin’s illness and the delayed disclosures.
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