Pentagon chief Lloyd Austin says he should have handled cancer diagnosis better

US defence secretary Lloyd Austin on Thursday apologised for failing to tell president Joe Biden and senior staff about his recent prostate cancer diagnosis ahead of time, adding that the health scare was a “gut punch” that had shaken him.

Mr Austin (70) also apologised for the way he handled his subsequent hospitalisation, which was kept secret from the public, senior staff and Mr Biden himself for days.

“[Mr Biden] has responded with a grace and warm heart that anyone who knows president Biden would expect and I’m grateful for his full confidence in me,” Mr Austin said in his first press conference since his secret hospitalisation.

Mr Austin’s secrecy surrounding his condition and his hospitalisation on January 1st caught the White House and Congress off guard. Mr Biden didn’t know Mr Austin was hospitalised during much of the first week of January.

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“I did not handle this right,” Mr Austin said.

The incident triggered a political uproar. Republicans accused Mr Austin of dereliction of duty. Mr Biden has said he has confidence in Mr Austin despite what the president agreed was a lapse in judgment.

Mr Austin said privacy and not secrecy was behind his decision not to tell the White House or public about the diagnosis earlier. “It was a gut punch,” Mr Austin said referring to his diagnosis.

Mr Austin said he still had some leg pain, but his doctors were confident it would improve over time.

Mr Austin was admitted to Walter Reed National Military Medical Center in Maryland on December 22nd to treat prostate cancer. He returned to the hospital on January 1st due to complications that included a urinary tract infection.

His hospitalisation was not disclosed until four days later, and the Pentagon did not specify why he was being treated until January 9th.

Mr Austin said he had never directed anyone in his staff to keep his January hospitalisation from the White House or the public. He added that he did not know what information had been passed to his deputy, Kathleen Hicks, who temporarily took over his duties.

Some prominent Republicans, including former president Donald Trump, called for Mr Austin to be removed from his job. Mr Austin is a retired four-star general who led forces in Iraq and is America’s first Black defence secretary.

The chairman of the US House of Representatives Armed Services Committee has asked Mr Austin to testify before the panel over the failure to timely disclose his hospitalisation.

“Congress must understand what happened and who made decisions to prevent the disclosure of the whereabouts of a cabinet secretary,” committee chairman Mike Rogers wrote last month. – Reuters

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