Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin will testify to the House Armed Services Committee (HASC) on Feb. 29 regarding a recent incident where he was hospitalized and delegated away critical national security powers without informing President Joe Biden or Congress for several days.
The defense secretary returned to work last week after a nearly month-long absence from the Pentagon that included several days in which he transferred his authority to Deputy Defense Secretary Kathleen Hicks.
The defense secretary had recently been diagnosed with prostate cancer and originally underwent surgery on Dec. 22 to “treat and cure” it, according to the Department of Defense. He was placed under general anesthesia during the surgery, which is used to induce unconsciousness….
