U.S. Defense Secretary Returns

US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin holds a bilateral meeting with NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg at the Pentagon.

Lloyd Austin returned to work at the Pentagon, the Defense Department said, following a hospitalization for complications from cancer treatment that he initially failed to disclose to the president and Congress.

Austin -- whose return comes a day after a deadly attack on American troops in the Middle East -- was due to meet NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg for bilateral talks.

"We also see growing competition with China. And Beijing is not an adversary, but China is conducting a major military buildup, increasingly aligning with Russia and bullying its neighbors northeast of Taiwan. And all of this impacts our security," Jens Stoltenberg, NATO secretary general said.

Lloyd Austin said "The president and I will not tolerate attacks on US forces and we will take all necessary actions to defend the US and our troops."

"NATO is the most powerful and successful alliance in history and we’re going to keep it that way," he added.

Austin "returned to work at the Pentagon today. The secretary has been conducting his duties from home since his release from Walter Reed National Military Medical Center on January 15, 2024," the Defense Department said in a statement.

The 70-year-old career soldier initially underwent minor surgery to treat prostate cancer on December 22, returning home the following day, but was readmitted due to complications including nausea and severe pain on January 1.

The White House was not informed about Austin's hospitalization until January 4, while Congress was not told until the following day, and Biden did not learn of the cancer diagnosis until January 9.

Republican lawmakers have called for Austin to be sacked, but US President Joe Biden, while lamenting the Pentagon chief's lapse in judgment, has said he remains confident in his defense secretary.