Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin remains hospitalized in good condition with no date set for his release, a Pentagon spokesman said Saturday.
Austin's Jan. 1 hospitalization for complications from prostate surgery and delays in notification, including to the White House, have prompted an investigation by the Department of Defense's internal watchdog and criticism from lawmakers. President Joe Biden called the delay a lapse in judgment, but said he still has faith in Austin.
Austin, 70, is in contact with senior staff and "continues to monitor DOD's day-to-day operations worldwide," Pentagon spokesman Pat Ryder said in a statement.
Austin's hospitalization has drawn particular scrutiny at a time of increased global conflict. That includes U.S. engagement in the Middle East after the Oct. 7 attack on Israel by Hamas militants and Israel's military response in the Gaza Strip, which Hamas rules.
The U.S. and U.K. launched about 70 airstrikes on Houthi targets in Yemen early Friday in a bid to stop the Iran-backed group's shipping attacks in the Red Sea. A follow-up attack by the U.S. early Saturday in Yemen targeted a Houthi radar site.
Pentagon officials have said Austin is performing his duties while at Walter Reed National Military Medical Hospital outside Washington and that his prognosis is good.
Biden said Friday that he maintained his confidence in Austin, but faulted him for not notifying the White House for days about his hospitalization after complications from prostate cancer surgery.
Biden made the succinct remarks, his first in-person comments on a matter that has raised grave questions about national security and the chain of command, in response to reporters' shouted questions as he toured small businesses in Pennsylvania.
"I do," Biden told reporters when asked if he still had faith in the secretary's leadership. Asked whether it was a lapse in judgment for Austin not to have notified him sooner, Biden responded, "Yes."
Austin was hospitalized and put in intensive care Jan. 1 after experiencing complications from a surgery he underwent Dec. 22. The procedure was a prostatectomy, in which part or all of the prostate is removed. The Pentagon waited 3½ days to inform the White House of his most recent hospitalization, and White House officials said they also did not know about the cancer diagnosis until last week.
In addition, Kathleen Hicks, the deputy defense secretary, was told Jan. 2 while she was on vacation in Puerto Rico that the secretary's power was being transferred to her, but officials have said it was not until days later that she was informed that Austin was in the hospital.
The communications breakdown left broad concerns about who could answer major national security questions during wars in Ukraine and the Middle East. It has also raised questions about the Defense Department's competence and Austin's credibility.
The White House had previously said Biden still had confidence in Austin and has denied that there was any breakdown in command. Austin has left intensive care, and John Kirby, the White House national security spokesperson, has said the secretary has continued to work while hospitalized.
"It was seamless. It was as if ... his participation was no different than it would be on any other given day, except he was briefing the president on options and engaging those questions from the hospital, but he was fully engaged," Kirby said.
Austin gave the final go-ahead on a major series of strikes against the Houthi militia in Yemen from the hospital Thursday, but Kirby acknowledged that the situation should not have played out the way it did.
"It's not good," Kirby said last week. "It's certainly not good, which is why we want to make sure it doesn't happen again."
The White House has ordered a review of procedures and sent a directive to Cabinet secretaries making clear that they are to inform the White House when they are unable to perform their duties. The Pentagon's inspector general has announced an investigation into the "roles, processes, procedures, responsibilities and actions" related to Austin's hospitalization.
Information for this article was contributed by Alicia Diaz of Bloomberg News (TNS) and Zach Montague of The New York Times.