American Defense Minister Lloyd Austin returned to the Pentagon on Monday, the ministry announced, a first since his hospitalization in early January, which he had kept secret from even the highest authorities.
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His return to the office comes a day after a drone attack on U.S. forces in Jordan killed three of their soldiers. The attack is blamed on pro-Iran groups and Washington has promised “very substantial” retaliation.
The minister was due to meet NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg on Monday for bilateral discussions.
Lloyd Austin “returned to work at the Pentagon today. The minister had been carrying out his duties at home since his release from hospital on January 15, the Defense Ministry said in a statement.
The 70-year-old former general was hospitalized on January 1 for two weeks due to complications following an operation related to prostate cancer which was diagnosed in early December.
This diagnosis and the two hospitalizations that followed were only communicated to the country’s senior authorities, starting with Joe Biden, several days later, which caused an outcry in the United States.
In the middle of an election year, Republican elected officials called for his departure, but Joe Biden declared that he retained confidence in his Minister of Defense, while regretting a lack of communication.
He made his first public appearance on Tuesday, speaking via videoconference at a meeting of the contact group on Ukraine.
After a follow-up appointment Friday, two doctors said in a statement shared by the Pentagon that the minister is expected to make a “full” recovery from his prostate cancer and that his prognosis is “excellent.”
