WASHINGTON — WASHINGTON (AP) — The White House is issuing a new set of guidelines to ensure it is notified when a Cabinet chief is unable to do his job after Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin’s secret hospitalization this month left President Joe for days hidden Biden and his top aides.
The new guidelines include a half-dozen instructions that Cabinet agencies must follow when there is a “delegation of authority,” or when secretaries temporarily transfer their authority to a deputy when they are unreachable due to medical issues, travel or other reasons. Jeff Zients launched a review of existing notification procedures earlier this month, shortly after Austin’s hospitalization became public, along with the Pentagon’s failure to immediately alert the White House.
“Through your submissions, you have demonstrated your commitment to notifying the White House in the event of a delegation – and to engaging with the White House in the event of a delegation,” wrote White House Chief of Staff Jeff Zients , in a memo to the White House. the rest of the cabinet on Friday. The memo was obtained by The Associated Press.
Zients noted that some existing guidelines differed between agencies due to different laws, regulations and executive orders.
But “through this process we are assured that all agencies have a set of standard protocols to follow in the event of a delegation of authority,” he wrote.
Going forward, Cabinet agencies must notify the White House Office of Cabinet Affairs and Zients’ office when they expect a delegation of authority, and again when the delegation actually occurs. It must also be recorded in writing that the delegation is in effect and once that delegation has ended.
Once the interim leader assumes authority, that person must contact his or her primary counterpart in the White House and the agency must follow up on any other notifications required by law — such as notifying key lawmakers on Capitol Hill.
Agencies must ensure that authority is transferred when a Cabinet official “travels to areas with limited or no access to communications, undergoes hospitalization or a medical procedure requiring general anesthesia, or is otherwise in a circumstance where he or she may be unreachable” , the memo said. is reading.
The Pentagon said earlier this month that Austin had a prostatectomy on December 22 to treat prostate cancer, for which he underwent general anesthesia at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center. He did not tell the White House about the procedure, but did temporarily transfer some of his powers to Deputy Defense Secretary Kathleen Hicks.
Austin returned to Walter Reed on January 1 after experiencing severe pain and being admitted to the intensive care unit. The next day, he again turned over some authorities to Hicks, who was vacationing in Puerto Rico. In both cases, Hicks was not told why authorities were delegated to her.
The Pentagon did not tell the White House about Austin’s hospitalization until Jan. 4, when National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan was notified and in turn told Biden.