Biden blames Austin for the lapse in judgment, but says he still has confidence in him

President Biden said Friday that he remained confident in Defense Secretary Lloyd J. Austin III, but faulted him for failing to notify the White House for days this month of his hospitalization following complications from prostate cancer surgery.

Mr. Biden made the terse remarks, his first personal remarks on an issue that has raised serious questions about national security and the chain of command, in response to reporters' shouted questions as he toured small businesses in Pennsylvania.

“Yes, I do,” Mr. Biden told reporters when asked if he still had confidence in the secretary's leadership. Asked whether it was an error of judgment that Mr. Austin had not notified him sooner, Mr. Biden replied: “Yes.”

Mr. Austin, 70, was hospitalized on Jan. 1 and placed in intensive care after suffering complications during an operation he underwent on Dec. 22; the procedure was a prostatectomy, in which part or all of the prostate is removed. But the Pentagon waited three and a half days to notify the White House of his most recent hospitalization, and White House officials said they also did not learn of the cancer diagnosis until this week.

In addition, Kathleen Hicks, the deputy secretary of defense, was told on January 2, while on vacation in Puerto Rico, that the secretary's power was being transferred to her, but officials said she was not notified until days later that Mr. Austin was in the hospital.

The communications outage raised major concerns about who could answer key national security questions during wars in Ukraine and the Middle East. It has also raised questions about the Defense Department's competence and Mr. Austin's credibility.

The White House had previously said Biden still had confidence in Austin and denied there was a breakdown in the order. Mr. Austin has left intensive care, and John F. Kirby, the White House national security spokesman, has said the secretary has continued to work while in the hospital.

“It was seamless, it was like – his participation was no different than any other day, other than briefing the president on the options and discussing those questions from the hospital, but he was fully involved,” he said. Kirby said.

Mr. Austin gave the final go-ahead for a major series of attacks on the Houthi militia in Yemen from the hospital on Thursday.

But Mr Kirby also acknowledged that the situation should not have gone the way it did.

“It's not good,” Mr. Kirby said earlier this week. “It's certainly not good, that's why we want to make sure it doesn't happen again.”

The White House has ordered a review of procedures and sent a directive to Cabinet secretaries clarifying that they must inform the White House if they are unable to perform their duties. And the Pentagon's inspector general has announced an investigation into the “roles, processes, procedures, responsibilities and actions” related to Mr. Austin's hospitalization.