Defense Secretary Austin Holds First Press Briefing at the Pentagon After Health Issues Transcript

Questions. Please note that I will moderate those questions and call on journalists, so I’d ask that you raise your hand if you have a question, wait to be recognized, and I’ll call upon you. With that, over to you, Mr. Secretary.

Secretary. Thanks, Pat. Good morning. It’s been a difficult few days for the Department of Defense, and the entire department is united in our outrage and sorrow over the death of three US service members on Sunday in Jordan. We all mourn the loss of three Army Reserve soldiers serving at Tower 22. Sergeant William J. Rivers, age 46, Sergeant Kennedy L. Sanders, age 24, and Sergeant Breonna A Moffett, age 23. Our thoughts and prayers are with their families and their loved ones, and we know that this grief will never leave them, and we hope that they know that the department’s love and support will never leave them either. We’re also praying for the other American troops who were wounded. Now, our teammates were killed when a one-way attack drone struck their living quarters. And we continue to gather the facts about this deadly attack. Our fallen soldiers had a vital mission to support operation inherent resolve and to work with our partners to ensure the lasting defeat of Isis. They risked their lives and lost their lives to keep their fellow Americans safe from global terrorism.

(01:36)
The President will not tolerate attacks on American troops and neither will I. Our teammates were killed by radical militias backed by Iran and operating inside Syria and Iraq. In the aftermath of the vial Hamas terrorist assault on Israel on October 7th, terrorist groups backed by Iran and funded by Iran have tried to create even more turmoil, including the Houthis attacking commercial shipping in the Red Sea. So this is a dangerous moment in the Middle East. We will continue to work to avoid a wider conflict in the region, but we will take all necessary actions to defend the United States, our interest, and our people, and we will respond when we choose, where we choose, and how we choose.

(02:38)
Now, that’s what everyone here is focused on, but in my first week back in the Pentagon, I did want to address my recent hospital stay and some of the issues around it. I’m recovering well, but as you can see, I’m still recovering. I’m still having some leg pain and doing physical therapy to get past it. I’m deeply grateful to my doctors and the nursing staff at Walter Reed, and I very much appreciate all the good wishes. But I want to be crystal clear. We did not handle this right and 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 to the American people.

(03:29)
Now, I want to make it very clear that there were no gaps in authorities and no risk to the department’s command and control. At every moment, either I or the deputy secretary was in full charge, and we’ve already put in place some new procedures to make sure that any lapses in notification don’t happen. In the future, if the deputy secretary needs to temporarily assume the duties of my office, she and several White House offices will be immediately notified, including the White House situation room, and so will key officials across the department. And the reason for that assumption of duties will be included in writing.

(04:12)
Now, I want you all to know why this happened. I was being treated for prostate cancer. The news shook me, and I know that it shakes so many others, especially in the Black community. It was a gut punch, and frankly, my first instinct was to keep it private. I don’t think it’s news that I’m a pretty private guy. I never like burdening others with my problems. It’s just not my way. But I’ve learned from this experience. So taking this kind of job means losing some of the privacy that most of us expect. The American people have a right to know if their leaders are facing health challenges that might affect their ability to perform their duties even temporarily. So a wider circle should have been notified, especially the President. I’ll take your questions today. But as you know, we’ve got an ongoing internal review as well as a DOD Inspector General Review that we fully support. So I may have to discuss some aspects later.

(05:21)
Now, let me back up a bit. As you know, on 22nd of December, I had a minimally invasive procedure to cure me of my recently diagnosed prostate cancer. And then I hit some bad luck during what is usually a pretty easy recovery. On January 1st, I felt severe leg pain and pain in the abdomen and hip. That evening, an ambulance took me to Walter Reed. The doctors found that I had several issues that needed treatment, including a bladder infection and abdominal problems. On January 2nd, I was also experiencing fever and chills and shallow breathing. The medical staff decided to transfer me to the critical care unit for several days for closer monitoring and better team care by my doctors. And the deputy secretary assumed the functions and duties of my office, which happens when necessary. Her senior staff, my senior staff and the joint staff were notified of this through our regular email notification procedures. And I never directed anyone to keep my January hospitalization from the White House.

(06:37)
On January 5th, I resumed my functions and duties as secretary from the hospital. I was functioning well mentally, but not so well physically. And so I stayed at Walter Reed for additional time for additional treatment, including physical therapy for some lingering issues with my leg. Now, I’m offering all of this as an explanation and not an excuse. I am very proud of what we’ve achieved at the department over the past three years, but we fell short on this one. As a rule, I don’t talk about conversations with my boss, but I can tell you, I’ve apologized directly to President Biden, and I’ve told him that I’m deeply sorry for not letting him know immediately that I received a heavy diagnosis and was getting treatment. And he has responded with a grace and warm heart that anyone who knows President Biden would expect. And I’m grateful for his full confidence in me.

(07:39)
And finally, I also missed an opportunity to send a message on an important public health issue, and I’d like to fix that right now. I was diagnosed with a highly treatable form of cancer, a pretty common one. One in eight American men will get prostate cancer. One in six Black men will get it. And so I’m here with a clear message to other men, especially older men, get screened, get your regular checkups, prostate cancer has a glass jaw. If your doctor can spot it, they can treat it and beat it. And the side effects that I experienced are highly, highly unusual. So you can count on me to set a better example on this issue today and for the rest of my life. And again, I want to thank everyone for their well wishes and their great support. And with that, I’ll take your questions.

Thank you, Mr. Secretary. First question will go to Associated Press. Lita?

Thank you. Thank you, Mr. Secretary. You said that you never directed anyone to keep this from the White House. Did you direct your staff or others to keep it from the public and from other senior staff members? And if you did not, has anyone been disciplined for doing something that you did not tell them to do? And then just quickly on Iraq and Syria, what is your response to the KH statement today that they are postponing or not doing any more attacks? Thank you.

Good morning, Lita.

Good morning.

To answer your question on whether or not I directed my staff to conceal my hospitalization from anyone else, the answer is no. In terms of my response to KH’s statement, we always listen to what people are saying, but we watch what they do. And again, actions are everything. So we’ll see what happens in the future.

Okay, next question will go to Fox. Jennifer?

Sir, during that time that you were in the intensive care unit, there was an airstrike carried out, a drone strike, against an Iraqi leader

Of a militia. How is it that, do you regret that the authorities were not clear at that point? And what can you explain about what was going through your mind at that time? And then separately, there’s been a lot of telegraphing about targeting and responding to the drone strike. So much so that the Iranian proxy leaders have left the country, some are back in Tehran. Has there been too much telegraphing? Or is the point not to kill any Iranian commanders?

Regarding the strike on the 8th, Jen, that strike was planned and I had made recommendations to the President on actions that we should carry out. And the President made a decision and based upon that decision, authorities were pushed down to the central command commander. And as you know, a strike like that, you can’t pick the precise time when that strike’s going to take place. You want to minimize collateral damage. You want to make sure that you have everything right. And so, the subordinate commander had the controls on that particular strike. So that, I was very much involved in planning and the recommendations for that. And we knew that that would take place within a matter of days.

(11:34)
In terms of telegraphing about strikes and whether or not people leave or would have left, I won’t speculate on any of that. I would just tell you that we will have a multi-tiered response. And again, we have the ability to respond a number of times depending on what the situation is.

Okay. Let’s go to Reuters. Phil?

What did your deputy know about your condition and when did you know it?

Yeah, Phil, I think in terms of what she knew and didn’t know, I think we should probably let that come out of the review. I won’t speculate on what she knew and did not know based upon what information was passed to her. Again, I think the details of that will come out of one or both of those reviews.

Okay. Gordon?

Mr. Secretary, you said you didn’t direct your staff to hide this truth or lie, but did you create a culture of secrecy that then the staff interpreted your desires or your intentions when it came to you getting sick?

Yeah. I don’t think I’ve created a culture of secrecy. I think there will be security officers, there will be other staff members who may perceive that they’re doing things in my best interest and I can’t predict or determine or ascertain what those things may be. I just know what I said and did not say. And of course I have a great staff and they always want to intend to do the right things. But in terms of what one may or may not have perceived at any one point in time, I won’t speculate on that.

Okay. Let’s go to ABC.

Hi, sir. Thank you for doing this. And I think on behalf of all of us here, we wish issue a speedy recovery. I’d like to ask you about the current situation in the Middle East. The message has been deterrence, deterring the attacks by the Houthis, deterring the attacks by the militias. Has deterrence failed? And if you are going to retaliate at a time and place of your choosing, is that not an escalation, particularly given all the rhetoric with Iran? And a question on your recovery, sir, at any point did you feel that your situation had caused you to consider possibly resigning given all of the political attention that had developed as a result of it?

In terms of resignation, the answer is no. In terms of escalation in the Middle East, our goal was to make sure that we contain this crisis in Gaza and that we prevented things from spreading to a wider, wider conflict. Now, there’s a lot of activity in the region, but there’s always been a lot of activity in the region. And you know well that Iranian proxy groups have been attacking our troops even well before October 7th. And we can go back and count the numbers of attacks before October 7th and they’re not insignificant.

(15:14)
There are things that are ongoing now, well, things that are not ongoing: we don’t see a conflict, an all out conflict between Israel and Lebanese Hezbollah, and so I think managing that I think has been artfully done. And so we remain in contact with our Israeli counterparts and make sure that that doesn’t blossom into a war on another front.

(15:43)
We don’t see Israel engaged in a conflict with other countries in the region. We’re not at war with Iran. And yeah, the Houthis continue to do some things that are very irresponsible and illegal. And so our goal is to make sure that we take away, we continue to take away capability from the Houthis to do what they’ve been doing. And this is not a US issue, this is an international issue. We’re going to either be serious about the freedom of navigation or we’re not.

(16:19)
And so, as we look at partners like the UK and so many others that have joined us in this effort, this is about freedom of navigation. There are others in the world that are watching this to see how serious we are about this. And we are serious. And again, our partners and allies are serious about it as well. This is costing countries and companies significant amounts of money as they’ve had to redirect commercial traffic around. But the Houthis, I mean, their activity needs to come to a halt. And we would call upon Iran to quit or to cease supplying the Houthis with these advanced conventional weapons that they’ve used to attack ships in the Red Sea and the Bab el-Mandab.

Okay. Let’s go to [inaudible 00:17:09]

Sir, commiserations on your illnesses, and it’s good to see you back on your feet.

At least on one foot.

On one foot. You said that you never directed your staff to keep the news of your hospitalization from anyone. Did any senior members of your family or your wife direct people to keep this a secret?

To my knowledge, no members. Well, I don’t know. I don’t know what anyone on my staff may have said, but I think these things will come out in the review. And so rather than speculate, I think we should let the facts come out as a review is done.

Can I ask you one more question about-

Sure.

You mentioned during your opening statement that this was an opportunity to talk about prostate cancer, especially in the black community. I wonder though, do you have any regret that your silence on this reinforced this culture of secrecy among black men about prostate cancer?

Yeah. And you mentioned that, and it’s probably not an issue of secrecy as much as it’s an issue of privacy. The cancer period is very private, and there may be cancer survivors amongst us in this room right here. And I know there is at least a couple. There are at least a couple. But you know how private that is and you know what the initial diagnosis feels like. And so among the black community though, it’s even more a thing that people want to keep private. And again, it’s more about privacy than secrecy. In my case, I should have informed my boss. I did not. That was a mistake. And again, I apologize to him for not doing so.

That’s good. NPR?

Mr. Secretary, you went to the hospital on December 22nd. Was your staff aware that you’d gone to the hospital. And if so, why didn’t they tell the White House? You went back to the hospital on January 1st and an aide told the dispatcher, “When the ambulance arrives, no lights, no sirens.” Did you direct the aid to say that?

I asked my assistant to call the ambulance. I did not direct him to do anything further than just call the ambulance. And so, what he said and why he said it, I think that should come out in the review as well.

What about December 22nd, when you went to the hospital the first time, was your staff aware? And if so, why did they tell the White House?

When I went to the hospital on December 22nd, I went in for that procedure.

My duties were transferred to the deputy. That was planned. And I decided to stay in the hospital overnight, didn’t have to. Decided to stay there overnight because of the anesthesia that was involved. And then, the next day, later in the afternoon, early evening, we transferred authorities back.

No, I’m talking about your staff. Was your staff aware?

Okay, let’s… Peter?

Why didn’t they call the White House?

Mr. Secretary, first of all, we wish you good health, and thank you for taking our questions. We hope you have a quick recovery. I have two questions. I’ll start with the first one on your hospitalization. You were hospitalized for days before you informed the White House or the commander in chief of your condition. In your absence, anyone else within the military chain of command would’ve faced reprimand or even dismissal. Why shouldn’t that same standard apply to you, sir?

Well, let me just say that, thanks for the question, that we didn’t get this right. And as I said, I take full responsibility for the department’s actions. In terms of why, on the second notification was not made to the White House, that information was available. I’m not sure at this point what exactly happened, but I think details will play out as a review is conducted.

I’d like some follow up about the situation overseas right now and the deliberation in regards to strikes. There have been more than 160 strikes on American targets across the region, as you noted, since October. Why has the US waited until American service members were killed to escalate its response?

Well, as you know, we’ve responded a number of times and taken out… First of all, their attacks, many of them, most of them are going to be ineffective, and most of them we’re going to defend ourselves against. And whenever we conduct a strike, we’re going to hit at what we’re aiming at. We’re going to take away capability. We’re we’re going to do what we’re desiring to do. And so this particular attack was egregious, in that the attack was on the sleeping area of our base. And again, Kaia’ib Hezbollah and other elements continue to attack our troops. And again, I think at this point we should… It’s time to take away even more capability than we’ve taken in the past.

(22:52)
And in terms of the… You use the term “escalation.” We’ve not described what our response is going to be. But we look to hold the people that are responsible for this accountable. And we also look to make sure that we continue to take away capability from them as we go forward.

Let’s go to the next question. Washington Post, Missy.

Welcome back, Mr. Secretary. First of all, the chairman of the House Armed Services Committee, one of the main oversight committees for this building, has asked if you will come testify on a specific date. Will you do that?

(23:26)
And secondly, on the Middle East, what’s your response to the criticism that the United States is sort of playing into the hands of the Houthis because the US response is elevating their status; they’ve demonstrated an ability to withstand years of bombing in the past; and more broadly, playing into the hands of the Iranians that support the Houthis and the other groups, when the goal of President Biden in the United States has been to prevent increased violence in the Middle East and now the United States is taking part in actually increasing it? Thanks.

Missy, what was the first part of your question?

Will you testify as Chairman Rogers has asked?

Yeah, so Congress had some very relevant questions that they’ve asked us, and we will continue to answer those questions. We’ll continue to work with Chairman Rogers’ office to address any additional questions or issues that he might have. And again, we’ll stay in touch with Chairman Rogers’ office as things play out.

And sorry, on the Middle East.

Yeah.

Are you playing into the hands of the Houthis and Iran, more generally?

Well, Missy, if you take a look at what the Houthis are doing, they’re attacking commercial shipping. Initially, they said that they’re attacking commercial shipping because these ships were supporting Israel. They’ve attacked ships that have the interest of some 50 countries that are not supporting Israel. And so this is an international crime and this is something we have to do about it. And in terms of elevating the status of the Houthis, I think we have to do something about that. This is not elevating their status; this is about preventing them from having the ability to do what they’ve done in terms of attacking ships and trying to sink ships that have nothing to do with the Israeli conflict.

Let’s go to CBS, David.

Mr. Secretary, we all saw a golf cart out in the hallway. Is that how you’re getting around now? And how confident are you that your recovery is going to be complete enough to allow you to continue in what everybody recognizes as a very demanding job?

Yeah. Well, nobody recognizes that more than me. But that’s the first time I use that golf cart, by the way. But I think it’s pretty neat. My leg will continue to improve. The doctors are confident that it will. My PT specialist, who I think is a sadist, he continues to work me hard and he has confidence as well. It’ll just take time because of the nature of the injury.

Has he told you how much time?

No, they can’t put a number on in terms of days or weeks, but it’ll be incremental improvement. I won’t be ready for the Olympics, but I’ll improve.

Let’s go to AFP.

Thank you, Mr. Secretary. Does the US need to escalate its military actions or do something new or unprecedented in order to deter Iran and its proxies? And if so, how can that be done without sparking a broader conflict?

I think everyone recognizes the challenge associated with making sure that we hold the right people accountable, that we do everything necessary to protect our troops, and that we manage things so that they don’t escalate. I don’t think there’s any set formula for doing this. I do think, though, that in everything that we do, as we work our way through our decision-making process with the National Security Council, we’re managing all of that, looking at all of that, and we’re using every instrument of national power to address various issues. So I think, I mean, there are ways to manage this so it doesn’t spiral out of control, and that’s been our focus throughout.

Let’s go to Al Jazeera, Fadi.

Thank you, [inaudible 00:27:52]. Speedy recovery, Mr. Secretary. I have two things. Back in December in your speech at the Reagan Library, you told Israeli leaders they have to protect civilian lives in Gaza. Since that speech, 12,000 more Palestinians have been killed. We’re now at 27,000 killed. Why are you still supporting this war when this government that is the most extreme in the history of Israel, led by someone who refuses to recognize any political right for the Palestinians, and with elements that are calling for ethnic cleansing and displacement of Palestinians? Do Palestinians have the right to dignity, as you said in Angola when I was with you on the trip? You said the future belongs to those who protect dignity, not trample it.

Yeah, I said that in the speech at the Reagan Forum. I’ve said that to my counterpart, Minister Gallant, every time that I talk to him, and I talk to him every week. And I emphasize the importance of protecting civilian lives. I also emphasize the importance of providing humanitarian assistance to the Palestinians. It’s critical. It’s really important.

(29:14)
There’s no question that it’s been a tough conflict. But as I said earlier, we are starting to see the Israelis shift their stance and change their approach to a more focused and controlled, well, “control” is probably not the right word, but a more focused effort focused on a discrete set of objectives. And so I think, you know, we talked to them about that weeks ago and they said they were going to do that, and they are doing that. But I will continue to emphasize, and I know Secretary Blinken and President Biden will continue

… To emphasize the importance of addressing the issue of the Palestinian people. It’s critical. And we’re doing more but we’re not doing enough, so…

Time for a few more. Let’s go to CNN.

Secretary, allow me to join my colleagues in wishing you a speedy recovery. The 30-day review was due in a matter of days now, I think less than a week, if I’m not mistaken. Do you commit to making that review public?

(30:23)
And second question, has your Chief of Staff Kelly Magsamen offered her resignation or have there been discussions about her resignation in the wake of the failure to notify?

I commit to being as transparent as possible and sharing as much as possible. Oren, you’ll understand that because this is a command and control of policies of our government here, there’ll be elements of this that are classified, but we’re committed to sharing as much as possible as soon as possible.

And your Chief of Staff, has she offered her resignation?

She has not, so…

Okay. Let’s go to PBS. Nick?

Mr. Secretary, I’ve seen what you’re going through up close among loved ones, so again, we wish you a full recovery. And I know it’s possible, so thank you.

(31:14)
You’ve described this as a gut punch, your instinct to privacy, but if I could just ask you bluntly, you had nearly a month between the time you learned of your cancer and time that this came out to inform the President. How could you possibly think that it was okay not to tell him, if I could be blunt?

(31:32)
And just a small question on Iran and the Middle East, what do you believe Iran knew operationally about the attack in Jordan? And how important is that when it comes to the U.S. response?

So when the diagnosis was made, doctor highlighted that you have a finite window of time to actually get this done. If you go beyond that window, then you’ll have a problem. Christmas holiday’s coming up for me to be… As little impact on what we’re doing in the department. Christmas was a time for me to take a look at getting that done. It was a tough decision for me and I did not decide until very close to when that procedure was done to actually do the procedure.

(32:28)
In terms of informing the President, again, I admit that that was a mistake, to not talk to him about that early on. When you’re the President of the United States, you’ve got a lot of things on your plate. And so putting my personal issue adding to all the things that he’s got on his plate, I just didn’t feel that that was a thing that I should do at the time. But again, I recognize that that was a mistake and I should have done that differently, so…

Okay –

And what Iran knew about the attack in Jordan or how operationally it was involved?

We believe that this was done by an element of what is known as the Axis of Resistance, and these are Iranian proxy groups. And how much Iran knew or didn’t know, we don’t know, but it really doesn’t matter because Iran sponsors these groups, it funds these groups and, in some cases, it trains these groups on advanced conventional weapons. And so, again, I think without that facilitation, these kinds of things don’t happen.

Okay, let’s go to FT and then Politico to close it out.

Thanks, Mr. Secretary. Have you seen any sign that China has been successful in pressuring Iran to rein in the Houthis in the Red Sea?

We have not. Again, what’s happening in terms of close communications between leaders, we don’t know but we’ve not seen any visible evidence that they are encouraging or pressuring Iran to cause the Houthis to back off of what they’ve been doing.

Okay, final question?

Thank you.

(34:18)
Good to see you, Mr. Secretary. I also hope you make a speedy recovery. I have two questions.

(34:24)
First of all, do you regret not personally telling the deputy the details the two times that you were in the hospital and the authorities were transferred to her? Do you think that she had a right to know?

(34:35)
And then I have a question on the Middle East as well.

As you heard me say in my opening statement, I apologized to all my colleagues and also the American people that I wasn’t as transparent as I probably should have been upfront, so.

And then my second question, is there any discussion right now of withdrawing troops from either Syria or Iraq, especially given what has happened in the last couple of weeks?

What’s happened in the last couple of weeks is not driving us to consider withdrawing troops from Syria. There are ongoing discussions with the Iraqi leadership about our future footprint in Iraq, and I think that’s been fairly well publicized. The High Military Commission, we’ve taken the first steps in conducting those meetings. And so that will play out over time, so…

Does that include discussions about withdrawing troops from Iraq?

It’ll include discussions about our footprint going forward, for sure.

Thank you very much, Mr. Secretary. Ladies and gentlemen, that’s all the time we have for today. Thank you very much.

[inaudible 00:35:46]

We’re still doing the forensics, Jen. But most of the drones in the region have a connection with Iran, so…

Mr. Secretary, why a multi-tiered response? Why not one and done, get it over with, if they don’t want to get dragged into a broader conflict?

I don’t think the adversaries are of a one and done mindset. And so they have a lot of capability, I have a lot more. And so, as I said earlier, we’re going to do what’s necessary to protect our troops and our interests, so…

Also –

Thank you very much, ladies and gentlemen. Appreciate it. Thank you. [crosstalk 00:36:32]