The Defense Department on Monday published an unclassified summary of an internal review on the decision to keep Secretary Lloyd Austin’s hospitalization secret, noting that nothing examined during the probe “demonstrated any indication of ill intent or an attempt to obfuscate.”
Austin’s chief of staff, Kelly Magsamen, ordered the department’s director of administration and management to launch the 30-day review to establish the facts around the transfer of authorities while Austin was hospitalized.
Another investigation by the department’s inspector general is ongoing.
The unclassified summary was published alongside a memo signed by Austin that directed the implementation of the recommendations made by the review.
Both the review and the recommendations issued are meant to help “inform internal policy deliberations regarding lessons learned and improvements to processes and procedures,” according to the summary.
Based on the review’s findings, Austin’s staff followed standard procedure to ensure that the department’s work continued while the secretary received hospital treatment.
“Their efforts, while respecting the Secretary’s privacy, combined with the uncertainty of a medical situation and its bearing on how best to execute a [transfer of authority] in the absence of an established methodology for making such an unplanned decision, may have contributed to the lack of comprehensive information sharing about the situation,” the summary stated.
From Jan. 1 to 5, Austin’s team dealt with “an unprecedented situation,” the review found, and staff executed a transfer of authority “in the same way they had previously done.”
Specifically, Austin’s staff was limited by medical privacy laws, privacy concerns, and the fact that the secretary’s condition remained “in flux” while he was in critical care and “timely secured communications could not be assured.”
While “the process for making decisions to transfer the Secretary’s authority could and should be improved, as further explained in the recommendations approved by the Secretary, nothing examined during this review demonstrated any indication of ill intent or an attempt to obfuscate,” the summary said.
Austin underwent surgery for his prostate cancer diagnosis on Dec. 22 and was released from the hospital a day later.
Then, on Jan. 1, Austin experienced nausea and pain in his abdomen, hip and leg, and had to be transferred to Walter Reed National Military Medical Center via ambulance due to a complication from the surgery.
He was then admitted to the hospital’s critical care unit on Jan. 2; his duties were transferred to his deputy, Kathleen Hicks, who was in Puerto Rico at the time and unaware of Austin’s condition. Hicks and national security adviser Jake Sullivan were both only notified of Austin’s hospitalization on Jan. 4.
Austin resumed his duties on Jan. 5, when the department notified Congress and shared a public statement regarding the secretary’s hospital stay.
The issue raised eyebrows in Washington, with President Joe Biden saying Austin showed a lapse in judgment by failing to notify him about the issue while noting that he still had confidence in the Pentagon leader.
Austin assumed full responsibility for his actions during a press conference earlier this month.
“I want to be crystal clear: We did not handle this right,” he said. “I should have told the president about my cancer diagnosis. I should have also told my team and the American public, and I take full responsibility. I apologize to my teammates and to the American people.”
Austin also had to be hospitalized again on Feb. 11 for a bladder issue, but this time he notified the White House and Congress as soon as that happened. He was released two days later after undergoing a non-surgical procedure.
Austin is expected to testify before the House Armed Services Committee on Thursday.
Rep. Mike Rogers (R-Ala.), the committee’s chair, cast doubt on the review’s conclusions in a post on X, formerly Twitter, Monday.
“Unsurprisingly, the review of Sec Austin’s actions, conducted by his own subordinates & subject to his approval, HELD NO ONE ACCOUNTABLE,” Rogers wrote on the GOP’s House Armed Services Committee account. “This is why we are conducting our own investigation.”