Pentagon chief and Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin underwent surgery for prostate cancer on December 22nd. This was announced by the Walter Reed National Military Medical Center, where Austin underwent “minimally invasive” surgery. The defense minister, we read in the hospital statement, “continues to make progress”: “We expect a full recovery, although this may be a slow process.”
National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said the White House “recognizes” that there is a “transparency” issue in the Lloyd Austin case, but reiterated that the Pentagon chief has “the full confidence of Joe Biden.” . However, Kirby added that what happened “was certainly not okay, and that's why we want to make sure it doesn't happen again.”