On New Year’s Day 2024 Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin was admitted to Walter Reed hospital. His deputy, Kathleen Hicks, took over his duties on January 2 but was not told he was in the hospital until January 4. The White House was told three days after he entered the hospital. He had been treated for prostate cancer, a diagnosis he had not shared.
President Biden called it a lapse in judgment. On February 1 Austin apologized at the Pentagon. “We did not handle this right. And I did not handle this right.” He added: “I should have told the president about my cancer diagnosis.”