Austin faces questions from the House Committee about his hospitalization

Secretary of Defense Lloyd J. Austin III appeared before a congressional committee on punishment on Thursday and continued a round of mea culpas over his failure to tell his boss last month that he was in the hospital with complications resulting from prostate cancer surgery.

Republican lawmakers had prepared to meet with Mr. Austin ahead of the hearing and ask former Defense Department officials for advice. Even the formal title of the hearing, listed on the House Armed Services Committee website, struck an ominous tone: “A Review of Secretary of Defense Austin’s Unannounced Absence.”

Mr. Austin tried to preempt the expected scolding by apologizing again for keeping his hospitalization at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center a secret.

“We had a glitch in notifications during my January stay at Walter Reed – that is, sharing my location and why I was there,” he told the packed hearing room. “And in December, I should have immediately informed the President, my team, Congress and the American people of my cancer diagnosis and subsequent treatment.”

He added: “I take full responsibility.”

On Monday, the Pentagon released an unclassified version of a review of how Defense Department officials, including Mr. Austin, handled his hospitalization. The document offered little or no criticism and did not accuse anyone of not disclosing their illness.

Even before the hearing started, lawmakers were already steaming. Representative Mike D. Rogers, Republican of Alabama and chairman of the Armed Services Committee, used all caps to make his point on social media that “the review of Sec Austin’s actions, conducted by his own subordinates and subject to his approval , NO ONE HELD RESPONSIBLE.”

In his opening statement on Thursday, Mr. Rogers said the chain of command “doesn’t work” when the president doesn’t know who to call.

“It is completely unacceptable that it took three days to inform the President of the United States that the Secretary of Defense was in the hospital and had no control over the Pentagon,” Mr. Rogers said as he opened the hearing. “Wars were raging in Ukraine and Israel, our ships were under fire in the Red Sea and our bases were preparing for attack in Syria and Iraq. But the Commander in Chief did not know that his Secretary of Defense was out of action.”

Mr Rogers added: “Someone needs to be held accountable.”

Across the Capitol, senators from both parties expressed frustration after receiving a classified briefing Tuesday on the Pentagon review.

“I have very strong, serious questions for the Pentagon about the way this apparent cover-up was handled, and I think there should be some public accountability,” Senator Richard Blumenthal, Democrat of Connecticut, told reporters.

Sen. Roger Wicker of Mississippi, the ranking Republican on the Armed Services Committee, said in a statement: “I remain concerned that the department has yet to be held accountable for its failure to comply with federal law and to hold Congress or the White House accountable.” must notify that the secretary is incapacitated.”

Mr Wicker added: “It is clear that many members of the committee left the briefing frustrated by questions left unanswered.”

Mr. Austin underwent an elective medical procedure at Walter Reed on December 22. He did not tell the White House or senior administration officials that he was undergoing surgery for a diagnosis he would later describe as a “gut punch.”

He was released before Christmas but returned on New Year’s Day with complications that kept him in intensive care for two weeks.

Mr. Austin’s chief of staff, Kelly Magsamen, did not inform the White House that her boss was in the hospital until three days later. The extraordinary breach of protocol — Mr. Austin is in charge of the country’s 1.4 million active-duty military at a time when wars in Gaza and Ukraine dominate the U.S. national security landscape — prompted officials across the government, including the Pentagon, confused.

Mr. Austin tried to explain in early February when he told reporters at the Pentagon that “I didn’t handle this properly.”

“I should have told the president about my cancer diagnosis,” he said. “I should have told my team and the American public, and I take full responsibility.”

Mr. Austin also said he never told his staff not to inform the White House about his hospitalization.

The defense minister has long been known for being extremely private and media-shy.