Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin and his deputy violated protocol by keeping his emergency hospitalization last year a secret from congressional officials, the Pentagon's internal watchdog found in a report released Wednesday.

Austin was hospitalized for 15 days starting on Jan. 1, 2024, after having "severe pain" shortly after having surgery for prostate cancer. The White House was not notified of his incapacitation until Jan. 4, while Congress and the public did not learn until Jan. 5.

According to the Pentagon Inspector General's report on Austin's conduct during his hospitalization and the events surrounding the incident, Austin and Deputy Defense Secretary Kathleen Hicks were required to "immediately notify" congressional officials when Austin was incapacitated and Hicks was serving as acting Secretary of Defense, despite her being on vacation at the time of Austin's hospitalization and was not immediately notified herself.

"While we acknowledge that Deputy Secretary Hicks had no knowledge of Secretary Austin's hospitalization on January 2 and did not realize at the time that she was serving as the Acting Secretary of Defense, there nonetheless was a requirement for her as the acting head of the DoD to make those immediate notifications," the report states.

Austin apologized for his actions in a statement last year.

"I want to be crystal clear: We did not handle this right," he said at the time. "I did not handle this right. I should have told the president about my cancer diagnosis. I should have also told my team and the American public, and I take full responsibility. I apologize to my teammates and the American people."

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