Austin is being treated for prostate cancer. Biden only learned of the cancer diagnosis this week.
of the United States president Joe Biden the defense minister is still confident to Lloyd Austin, who has been sued for severance due to a trip to the hospital that caused an uproar. Biden commented on the incident to reporters on Friday.
Austin was hospitalized on Monday of last week, but the ministry did not tell about it until several days later. Republican decision-makers have demanded Austin's resignation due to the delay and threatened him with impeachment. Several Democrats have also expressed their concerns, but only one has called for a change in the defense minister.
Austin has since resumed his duties, but was still in the hospital on Friday.
Austin, 70, underwent minor surgery to treat the cancer on Dec. 22 and returned home the next day. However, she was taken back to the hospital on New Year's Day due to complications including nausea and severe pain.
The White House was informed of the hospitalization three days later, and Congress was informed a day after that shortly before it was made public. Biden only heard about Austin's cancer diagnosis for the first time this week.
Although credit seems to be enough, Biden admitted when asked by reporters that he felt that Austin's judgment had failed him when he had kept the president in the dark about his hospitalization.
“The President has made it clear: Austin is his Secretary of Defense and will remain his Secretary of Defense. He has full faith and confidence in Secretary Austin and his leadership abilities,” a representative of the US National Security Council John Kirby in turn emphasized the news channel MSNBC.
In connection with Austin's trip to the hospital, investigations have begun both in the White House and the Ministry of Defense. The White House chief of staff ordered an urgent review of the rules governing incapacity for high-ranking officials. This was also done by Austin's own chief of staff.
The investigation initiated by the Inspector General of the Ministry of Defense assesses, among other things, whether the ministry's practices are sufficient to ensure timely and appropriate notifications and the effective transfer of authority if top management is unavailable due to health problems or other reasons.
White House said earlier on Friday that Austin had been working from his sickbed while US and British forces prepared their strikes in Yemen. The United States and Britain struck dozens of Houthi rebel targets in Yemen the night before Friday.
“He was fully involved even from his hospital bed,” John Kirby emphasized to MSNBC.
The Houthi rebels have recently carried out numerous attacks against international shipping in the Red Sea. The rebels have said they are supporting the Palestinians in Gaza, where Israel is waging a bloody war against the extremist group Hamas.
The United States and Britain and their allies assure that their attacks on the territory of Yemen with fighter jets and missiles are aimed at restoring stability to the Red Sea. The countries emphasized in their statement that they are not acting to protect human lives and ensure the free flow of shipping on one of the world's key trade routes.
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