Defense secretary back at Pentagon after hospital stay

Lloyd Austin said during a Monday meeting in Washington with NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg that he was glad to be back in the office. Austin has spent much of the month in Walter Reed National Military Medical Center and at home after he began experiencing severe pain following treatment for prostate cancer. He has faced criticism for failing to provide proper notice that he would be staying in the hospital and would be unavailable.

What has the administration said about his hospital stay? Biden administration officials said weeks ago that the president had no plans to fire Austin. Neither Biden nor other administration officials knew Austin was in the hospital until days after he arrived there. The White House said it will investigate the policies and procedures surrounding how and when to provide notice for hospital stays. The Pentagon said it will conduct its own investigation. Austin has admitted he “could have done a better job” of informing the public and committed to “doing better” in the future.

Dig deeper: Read Daniel R. Suhr’s column in WORLD Opinions about Austin taking a nap at the nuclear switch.