Pentagon chief Lloyd Austin apologises for concealing cancer hospitalisation
- The US defence secretary says the diagnosis was a ‘gut punch’, but admits he should have told Biden and senior staff about his condition
- Austin’s hospitalisation was kept secret for days, even from the US president, triggering a political uproar as well as calls for his removal
US Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin on Thursday apologised for failing to tell President Joe Biden and senior staff about his recent prostate cancer diagnosis ahead of time, adding that the health scare was a “gut punch” that had shaken him.
Austin, 70, also apologised for the way he handled his subsequent hospitalisation, which was kept secret from the public, senior staff and Biden himself for days.
“[Biden] has responded with a grace and warm heart that anyone who knows President Biden would expect and I’m grateful for his full confidence in me,” Austin said in his first press conference since his secret hospitalisation.
Austin’s secrecy surrounding his condition and his January 1 hospitalisation caught the White House and Congress off guard, and even Biden did not know Austin was hospitalised during much of the first week of January.
“I did not handle this right,” Austin said.