WASHINGTON (NewsNation) — The Biden administration unveiled new agency protocols for Cabinet leaders to adhere to in the event that a delegation of authority is required. The move comes after Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin’s secret hospitalization that left President Joe Biden in the dark for several days.
In a memo obtained by NewsNation, White House chief of staff Jeff Zients wrote to Cabinet Secretaries laying out six steps to follow if they cannot perform their duties.
“While there are variations in your submitted protocols due to different authorizing statutes, regulations, and executive orders, through this process we are assured that all agencies have a set of standard protocols they must follow in the event of a delegation of authority,” Zients wrote in the memo.
Agencies must now notify both the White House Office of Cabinet Affairs and Zients’ office when they’re anticipating a delegation of authority and again when the delegation occurs. It must also document in writing when the delegation is in effect and when it is rescinded.
Once the delegation of authority has been assumed, communication must be established between the Acting Principal and their White House counterpart.
Zients’ goes on to direct agencies to delegate authority when a cabinet member is “traveling to areas with limited or no access to communication, undergoing hospitalization or a medical procedure requiring general anesthesia, or otherwise in a circumstance when he or she may be unreachable.”
The memo comes in the immediate aftermath of the Pentagon taking days to notify the White House that the defense secretary developed serious complications following a prostate cancer surgery.
On Dec. 22, Austin underwent a “minimally invasive procedure,” known as a prostatectomy, and temporarily transferred some of his authority to Deputy Secretary of Defense Kathleen Hicks. Austin returned to the hospital on Jan. 1 after experiencing severe pain. The next day, Austin retransferred certain operational responsibilities to Hicks on “the basis of medical advice.”
The White House was not informed of Austin’s condition until Jan. 4.
Doctors at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center have since said that Austin’s prostate cancer was treated “early and effectively” and his prognosis was “excellent.” Austin is expected to return to work in-person at the Pentagon on Monday for the first time since his hospitalization, a defense official told NewsNation.
