Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin has been discharged from the hospital after undergoing surgery for prostate cancer, but his failure to inform the Biden administration of his whereabouts and condition caused controversy.
Austin was discharged from Walter Reed National Medical Center in Bethesda, Maryland, on Monday. Austin plans to work from home until he recovers.
“I am grateful for the excellent care I received at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center, and would like to thank the excellent physicians and nursing staff for their professionalism and excellent support,” he said in a statement.
“I would also like to thank and appreciate all the well-wishes for my speedy recovery. I am currently recuperating and continuing my duties at home and am fully recovered and will return to the Department of Defense as soon as possible.” I hope to return.”
The defense secretary, known for his privacy, was controversial for not being transparent about his health or absences from work.
Even a few Democrats are arguing that Mr. Austin should be fired by President Biden over this issue.
Rep. Seth Moulton (D-Mass.), a member of the Armed Services Committee, said Friday that if he were Biden, he would have fired Austin.
“I can't imagine that happening at the lowest level of a military chain of command. Just like when I was just a lieutenant platoon leader in Iraq, I can't even imagine that happening,” Moulton said. He spoke on “The Hill on NewsNation.” “This is a breakdown in the chain of command. And the commander-in-chief needs to make a decision here.”
“It's up to the president to decide whether to fire Secretary Austin, but let me tell you, he needs to send a definitive message that something like this will never happen again,” Moulton added.
“I would fire him in about five minutes,” Moulton said.
While most Democrats stopped short of calling on Biden to fire Austin, many Republicans have also called for Biden to resign.
Austin did not tell Biden about his Dec. 22 cancer diagnosis or his hospital visit, and the president only learned last week that the Cabinet member had cancer.
Austin was also admitted to the intensive care unit with a urinary tract infection on January 1, and had to delegate his authority as head of the Pentagon to Deputy Secretary of Defense Kathleen Hicks. Biden and Hicks did not learn about his hospitalization until January 4.
Biden said Austin made an error in judgment by not telling him about his hospitalization, but insists the Democratic president still has confidence in the Pentagon chief.
During Mr. Austin's tenure at Walter Reed, the United States late last week launched a series of military strikes against the Iranian-backed Houthis in Yemen, targeting dozens of locations linked to commercial ship raiding operations in the Red Sea. Working from his hospital bed, Austin conducted conference calls with military leaders, including Gen. Eric Kurilla, commander of U.S. Central Command, and via secure video to review, order, and ultimately monitor the development of the attack. The White House meeting was held at the same time.
The Associated Press contributed to this article.
This article was updated at 12:00
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