The White House is undergoing a new review of protocols involving Cabinet secretaries following Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin‘s hospitalization last week.
Austin was admitted to Walter Reed National Medical Military Center on Jan. 1 after experiencing “severe pain” following an elective surgery in December, yet President Joe Biden was not notified of his hospitalization until Jan. 4.
White House chief of staff Jeff Zients issued the review of agency protocols to all Cabinet secretaries to be completed by Jan. 12, according to a memo obtained by the Washington Examiner. The review includes examining criteria and avenues for delegating authority, applications for said delegations, notification procedures regarding the White House, and more.
The memo was issued by Zients shortly before news broke that Austin’s hospitalization was the result of complications from a procedure he received to treat prostate cancer.
The defense secretary is sixth in the line of succession, and Republican lawmakers have demanded answers concerning Austin’s hospitalization in recent days.
“Heads have to roll,” Brett Bruen, an Obama administration communications official, told Politico over the weekend. “This is not a minor miscommunication. It’s about the confidence that our national security structure has in its leadership and that the leadership is acting in a transparent way.”
National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said Tuesday that Biden remains confident in Austin’s position at the Pentagon and would not accept his resignation if offered.
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The Pentagon publicly ordered a review of its own delegation protocols on Monday, and Austin said in a statement on Saturday that he bears responsibility for not properly alerting the White House.
“I recognize I could have done a better job ensuring the public was appropriately informed. I commit to doing better,” Austin wrote in the statement. “This was my medical procedure, and I take full responsibility for my decisions about disclosure.”
