Secretary of Defense returns to Pentagon one month after surgical complications

Defense Secretary Lloyd J. Austin III returned to the Pentagon on Monday for the first time in more than a month, the Defense Department said, following his surgery for prostate cancer and hospitalization for related medical complications.

Mr. Austin was widely criticized for not immediately disclosing his illness and absence to the White House, a breach of protocol that stunned officials across the administration, including the Pentagon.

His return to the building came a day after three US service members were killed in Jordan and at least 34 others injured in what the Biden administration said was a drone strike by an Iran-backed militia.

Mr. Austin met Monday with NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg and senior defense officials, including Gen. Charles Q. Brown, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.

He expressed “outrage and sadness at the deaths of three brave American troops in Jordan, and at the other troops who were injured,” adding that “we will take all necessary action to defend the U.S. and our troops.”

Mr. Austin said he was “happy to be back at the Pentagon. I feel good and am recovering well, but I am still recovering.”

The House Armed Services Committee has asked Mr. Austin to testify next month about why he and his aides kept his illness a secret. The committee's chairman, Representative Mike D. Rogers, Republican of Alabama, said that “Congress must understand what happened and who made decisions to prevent the disclosure of a Cabinet secretary's whereabouts.”

Mr Rogers said he had scheduled a hearing for February 14.

Mr. Austin, 70, has long been known as a fiercely private man who shuns the spotlight and is reluctant to talk to the news media — qualities that Mr. Biden handled well, his aides said, when he appointed the 40-year-old Army officer to be his defense minister.

But by keeping his hospitalization a secret, Mr. Austin drew more attention to himself than at any time in his long career. He also faced criticism and criticism of Biden's national security team at a time when it was dealing with multiple crises around the world, including wars in Gaza and Ukraine.

After learning about Mr. Austin's condition, Mr. Biden said he maintained confidence in his defense secretary but faulted him for waiting to notify the White House.