President Joe Biden has not spoken to Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin since he was discharged from the hospital, the White House said Tuesday, a day after Austin’s release.
“No, good question. Thank you for the question,” White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre responded to a reporter who asked if the two men had spoken. “We’re happy to hear of his discharge, obviously.”
Austin was released from Walter Reed National Military Medical Center on Monday, two weeks after he was admitted for complications following a treatment for prostate cancer.
Austin has faced heavy bipartisan criticism for failing to report his hospitalization to Biden, members of Congress and even members of his own inner circle for several days. Biden and the rest of the world didn’t find out about his prostate cancer diagnosis for nearly a month after Austin was first diagnosed in early December.
His hospitalization came as the US faces multiple high-stakes international crises that require the attention of the defense secretary, including Houthi attacks on commercial ships in the Red Sea and the Israel-Hamas war, which threatens to expand into a broader regional conflict.
Austin has acknowledged the concerns about transparency and took full responsibility for the lack of communication in a statement. Biden said last week that Austin showed a lapse of judgement by not notifying him of his hospitalization, but reiterated that he still maintains confidence in his defense secretary.
Jean-Pierre said Biden and Austin spoke last week and that she didn’t have anything to share on when they would speak again, but said that Austin had “very much been engaged and involved in what we’re seeing in the Middle East right now.”
“We are very happy to hear of his discharge and [are] looking forward to him getting back to the Pentagon,” she said.
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