Pentagon inspector general begins review of Austin hospitalization

WASHINGTON, Jan 11 (Reuters) - The U.S. Defense Department's inspector general's office said on Thursday it will begin a review this month of the handling of Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin's hospitalization.

It will be the first independent, non-partisan probe into Austin's secret prostate cancer diagnosis, his surgery and hospitalization. Both the Pentagon and Republican lawmakers have announced their own reviews.

Austin, who is 70, has been hospitalized since Jan. 1 at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center - a fact the Pentagon had kept from the public, the White House and Congress for much of last week, triggering a major political backlash.

President Joe Biden's administration has struggled to quiet the political furor over revelations the president, who is running for re-election, did not know of his defense secretary's Jan. 1 hospitalization until Jan. 4.

An inspector general's office statement said: "The objective of the review is to examine the roles, processes, procedures, responsibilities, and actions related to the Secretary of Defense’s hospitalization in December 2023 – January 2024."

It said the review would "assess whether the DoD’s policies and procedures are sufficient to ensure timely and appropriate notifications and the effective transition of authorities."

Austin sits just below Biden at the top of the U.S. military's chain of command. His duties require him to be available at a moment's notice to respond to any national security crisis.

That includes always being ready to enter secure communications with other officials in the event of an incoming nuclear attack, something that could be difficult from an intensive care unit.

Biden did not learn that his defense secretary had prostate cancer until Jan. 9, minutes after it was disclosed to the public along with an infection that was also kept under wraps.

Austin's deputy Kathleen Hicks was kept in the dark for days, even after she was told during a vacation in Puerto Rico to assume some of his duties on Jan. 2.