U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd J. Austin testifies during a House Armed Services Committee hearing on ending military operations in Afghanistan at the Rayburn House Office Building on the Capitol Building in Washington, DC, on September 29, 2021.
Olivier Duriery | AFP | Getty Images
Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin remains hospitalized on the advice of his doctors, but is “actively engaged and engaged,” according to national security spokesman John Kirby.
Appearing on CBS’s “Face the Nation” on Sunday, Mr. Kirby said that Mr. Austin had participated in talks several days earlier planning an attack on Iran-aligned Houthi militants in Yemen.
“It’s also important for the public to remember that ministers don’t have to sit down and talk every day to make every decision,” Mr Kirby said. “A lot of the work done in national security is done at the staff level.”
Austin has been treated with walter reed He has been hospitalized at the National Military Medical Center since January 1st after suffering complications from surgery to treat prostate cancer about two weeks ago. Kirby said Sunday that physical therapy is one of the reasons doctors are keeping Austin in the hospital.
Despite President Joe Biden’s support for Austin, the Department of Defense’s failure to disclose Austin’s hospitalization status to the White House and the public has sparked controversy.
For two days, Pentagon officials also did not tell Austin that they had transferred authority to her while Austin was in intensive care.
“The Department of Defense is looking into this and we’ll see what comes out of it, but that’s not how the process is supposed to work,” Kirby said.
