The White House is launching a review of Cabinet protocols for delegating authority in the wake of Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin\u2019s recent secret hospitalization following a procedure to treat prostate cancer, according to a memo obtained\u00a0by Fox News.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The memo from White House Chief of Staff Jeff Zients is addressed to Cabinet secretaries and directs departments and agencies to \u2018submit their agency-specific delegation of authority protocols by Friday, January 12, 2024, to the Office of Cabinet Affairs.\u2019<\/p>\n
\u2018The White House is conducting a review of agency protocols for a delegation of authority from Cabinet Members,\u2019 the memo states. \u2018The purpose of this memo is to direct your agencies to submit your existing protocols for a delegation of authority to the White House Office of Cabinet Affairs, and to ensure an updated process for such delegations in the interim. The Office of Cabinet Affairs will convey these protocols to the White House Chief of Staff.\u2019<\/p>\n
The memo says that while the review is \u2018ongoing,\u2019 Cabinet agencies \u2018must ensure\u2019 they follow procedures \u2018in the event that a delegation of authority is required.\u2019<\/p>\n
The memo directs the agencies to \u2018notify the Offices of Cabinet Affairs and White House Chief of Staff in the event of a delegation of authority or potential delegation.\u2019\u00a0<\/p>\n
READ THE MEMO \u2013 <\/strong>APP USERS, CLICK HERE:<\/strong><\/p>\n It also directs agencies to \u2018document in writing that the delegation of authority is in effect.\u2019\u00a0<\/p>\n The memo comes after it was revealed that Austin was hospitalized for days without notifying the White House. The Pentagon confirmed Tuesday that Austin went under general anesthesia for a prostatectomy on Dec. 22, 2023.<\/p>\n \u2018His prostate cancer was detected early, and his prognosis is excellent,\u2019 Walter Reed Hospital said. Austin was on leave at the time of the procedure, and he returned home the next day.<\/p>\n The hospital said Austin started to experience \u2018severe pain\u2019 on Jan. 1 and was admitted to the intensive care unit ICU, where the medical team treated a urinary tract infection. Austin was also treated for a backup of his small intestines with a tube placed through his nose to drain his stomach. Walter Reed said it anticipates him making a \u2018full recovery although this can be a slow process.\u2019<\/p>\n Austin did not notify the chairman of the Joint Chiefs or his deputy until the following day. The White House and President Biden were unaware until Jan. 4, and Congress and the press were notified on Jan. 5.\u00a0<\/p>\n Calls for Biden to remove Austin from his post and for Austin to resign have been mounting, but the White House said Austin will remain in his post.<\/p>\n National Security Council spokesperson John Kirby said this week \u2018there are no plans for anything other than for Secretary Austin to stay in the job and continue in the leadership that he\u2019s been \u2026 demonstrating.\u2019\u00a0<\/p>\n Department of Defense press secretary Maj. Gen. Pat Ryder told Fox News Digital that Austin doesn\u2019t have any plans to leave his post.<\/p>\n \u2018Secretary Austin has no plans to resign,\u2019 Ryder said. \u2018He remains focused on conducting his duties as secretary of defense in defense of our nation.\u2019<\/p>\n But Rep. Matt Rosendale, R-Mont., plans to introduce articles of impeachment against Austin on Tuesday afternoon.\u00a0<\/p>\n Austin is no longer in the ICU, but it is unclear when he will be released from the hospital.\u00a0<\/p>\n Austin and Biden authorized the Jan. 4 strike in Baghdad before Austin was hospitalized.<\/p>\n \u2018The secretary was aware of the strike\/actions on Jan. 4,\u2019 a senior U.S. defense official said.<\/p>\n Ryder previously told Fox News he could not provide additional information about Austin\u2019s ailments for privacy reasons. Austin resumed his duties from the hospital on Friday.<\/p>\n Fox News Digital\u2019s Houston Keene, Greg Wehner and Liz Friden contributed to this report.<\/p>\n\n The White House is launching a review of Cabinet protocols for delegating authority in the wake of Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin\u2019s recent secret hospitalization following a procedure to treat prostate cancer, according to a memo obtained\u00a0by Fox News.\u00a0 The memo from White House Chief of Staff Jeff Zients is addressed to Cabinet secretaries and directs <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":0,"featured_media":13819,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[25],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-13818","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-politics"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/shareperformanceinsight.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13818","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/shareperformanceinsight.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/shareperformanceinsight.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/shareperformanceinsight.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=13818"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/shareperformanceinsight.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13818\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/shareperformanceinsight.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/13819"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/shareperformanceinsight.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=13818"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/shareperformanceinsight.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=13818"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/shareperformanceinsight.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=13818"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}