Defense Sec. Lloyd Austin is on Capitol Hill today to face questioning by Republicans over his recent secret hospitalization.

Lawmakers are trying to get to the bottom of why he failed to tell President Joe Biden about his sudden absence for three full days.

Austin, 70, was hospitalized unexpectedly on January 1 after undergoing surgery for prostate cancer a few weeks earlier. 

He did not inform President Biden about his whereabouts until January 4. He also kept second-in-command Deputy Secretary of Defense Kathleen Hicks in the dark. 

‘It’s totally unacceptable that it took over 3 days to inform the President that the Secretary of Defense was in the hospital and not in control of the Pentagon,’  House Armed Services Chairman Mike Rogers will say at the hearing Thursday.

Many House Republicans have called for his resignation for failing to inform Biden about his condition, especially as wars rage in Ukraine and Israel.  

Austin, 70, was hospitalized unexpectedly on January 1 after undergoing surgery for prostate cancer a week earlier

Many House Republicans have called for his resignation for failing to inform Biden about his condition, especially as wars rage in Ukraine and Israel

Austin didn’t disclose the cause of his surgery – his prostate cancer – until Jan. 9th after facing days of questions about his hospitalization. Biden learned about it the same day as the general public. 

The Pentagon released a report earlier this week clearing Austin of wrongdoing for his secret hospitalization, but Republicans still want answers.

‘Nothing examined during this review demonstrated any indication of ill intent or an attempt to obfuscate,’ the department concluded in its internal review. The unclassified portion was released on Monday.

It found concerns about medical privacy and a rapidly changing situation were mostly to blame for why Austin’s hospitalization was kept from President Joe Biden, senior Pentagon officials and the public. 

Inspector General Robert Storch is still conducting his formal review. When announcing it, he said his office would examine any breaches of protocol surrounding Austin’s surgery for prostrate cancer, his rehospitalization for complications and the lack of disclosure to the White House and general public.

The finding is unlikely to satisfy members of Congress, many of whom called for Austin’s resignation. 

Austin was re-admitted to Walter Reed National Military Medical Center on February 11, reporting discomfort from a bladder issue related to his December 2023 prostate cancer surgery. He was released on February 13.

He later apologized to President Biden and the American people for keeping his diagnosis a secret.

He said his diagnosis with prostate cancer as a ‘gut punch’ and said it ‘shook’ him personally.

‘I was being treated for prostate cancer. The news shook me and I know it shakes so many others, especially in the black community. It was a gut punch,’ he said.