American Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin returned to the Pentagon on Monday, the ministry said, a first since his hospitalization in early January, which he had kept secret even from the highest authorities.
• Also read: The Pentagon chief's first public appearance since his secret hospitalization
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His return to the office comes a day after a drone strike on U.S. forces in Jordan killed three of their soldiers. The attack has been blamed on pro-Iranian groups and Washington has promised “very significant” retaliation.
The minister was scheduled to meet NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg for bilateral talks on Monday.
Lloyd Austin “returned to work at the Pentagon today. The minister has been carrying out his duties at home since his discharge from hospital on January 15, a statement from the Ministry of Defense said.
The 70-year-old former general was hospitalized for two weeks on January 1 due to complications following surgery related to prostate cancer diagnosed in early December.
This diagnosis and the two subsequent hospitalizations were not communicated to the country's top authorities, starting with Joe Biden, until a few days later, causing an outcry in the United States.
In the middle of an election year, elected Republicans called for his resignation, but Joe Biden said he continued to have confidence in his defense secretary but regretted the lack of communication.
He made his first public appearance on Tuesday when he spoke via video conference at a meeting of the contact group on Ukraine.
After a follow-up appointment on Friday, two doctors said in a statement shared by the Pentagon that the secretary is expected to make a “full recovery” from his prostate cancer and that his prognosis is “excellent.”