NEW: SecDef Lloyd Austin's 'Elective' Surgery Was for Prostate Cancer Diagnosed in December

By Susie Moore | 4:15 PM on January 09, 2024

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As more details emerge regarding Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin's medical condition and treatment, more questions are raised. On Tuesday, it was revealed that Austin had been diagnosed with prostate cancer in December and had undergone a prostatectomy at Walter Reed Medical Center late that month.

Austin was admitted to Walter Reed National Military Medical Center on Dec. 22, 2023, and underwent a minimally invasive surgical procedure called a prostatectomy to treat and cure prostate cancer.
Austin was then admitted to Walter Reed on Jan. 1, 2024, due to a urinary tract infection after the procedure, including nausea with severe abdominal, hip and leg pain. He was reportedly hospitalized for days without notifying the White House, leading to many questions and prompting the White House to begin a review of Cabinet protocols for delegating authority.

News first broke regarding Austin's hospitalization on Friday, after he'd been hospitalized for several days and an apparent round of "Who's on First" had unfurled as to the chain of command at the Pentagon. That the White House wasn't apprised of Austin's condition or hospitalization until late in the week raises a whole host of other questions, as streiff ably points out here:

Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General C. Q. Brown was informed the Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin was hospitalized Tuesday but agreed to maintain the charade that Austin was working at home. Meanwhile, Deputy Secretary of Defense Kathleen Hicks, who was on vacation in Puerto Rico, was asked to assume some of Austin's duties, but she didn't know he was in the hospital until Thursday.
I'd thought my duty to write about this fiasco had come to an end with my last update, but I was wrong.
BACKGROUND: White House Says SecDef Austin's Job Is Not in Danger and That's a Problem
Friday night, it was reported that Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin had not informed National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan that he was in the ICU at Walter Reed National Medical Center due to "complications" from a yet undefined "elective medical procedure." It fell to Sullivan to inform Biden that his secretary of Defense had been AWOL for four days while the SedDef's staff lied that Austin was ~~hiking the Appalachian Trail~~ working from home.
This newest update sheds some additional light on this colossal clusterf**k.

According to Walter Reed, Austin's cancer was detected early, and he has an excellent prognosis. That's all well and good but, the entire fiasco has many asking why protocols weren't followed.

Pentagon press secretary Maj. Gen. Pat Ryder held a press conference on Tuesday about Austin's unannounced hospital visit.
Ryder said that "nothing is more important to the secretary of defense and the Department of Defense than the trust and confidence of the American people and the public," and he was asked why Austin was reluctant to announce his medical condition.
...
Ryder was pressed on Austin's reluctance to announce his condition. The general said he didn't have anything from Austin about his reluctance but said "prostate cancer and the associated procedures are obviously deeply personal."
The general was also asked why Austin's personal security team did not make a call to raise awareness of the situation, which the press secretary called a "fair question."

Yes, I'd say it is a fair question. And while we wish Secretary Austin a speedy recovery, he needs to be prepared to answer why the situation was (mis)handled in such an irregular and unprofessional fashion.