Austin diagnosed with cancer, didn’t tell Biden for weeks

Doctors on Tuesday disclosed that the reason Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin was hospitalized on Jan. 1 was due to complications from a late-December surgery to treat prostate cancer, answering a major question involving the Pentagon chief’s mysterious health situation but raising further issues with how the episode was handled.

Less than an hour after the announcement, the White House disclosed that President Joe Biden didn’t learn of Austin’s diagnosis until Tuesday, weeks after the secretary learned he had cancer and days after the two spoke on the phone.

The disclosures come amid controversy over the Pentagon’s decision to keep members of the national security team, including Biden, in the dark for several days over his medical emergency.