Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin's hospital stay raises questions about
Cabinet members disclosing medical information and transferring power.
Here is what we know now.
What are the rules for Cabinet members notifying the White
House about medical procedures and leave?
There are rules and laws regarding who has authority,
and in that case, the Pentagon Secretary Austin delegated that
authority to his deputy when he was sick.
Now the custom is to inform.
Your boss, Just as you would in your in your
job,
if you're sick, right? And he didn't do that,
didn't inform the president of the United States,
his boss. When do cabinet members need to appoint a
person to serve in their place during a medical situation?
When they're incapacitated, Say they're under anesthesia for surgery,
for instance. Unable to communicate,
They're traveling somewhere where they don't have communications.
They can delegate to a deputy the authorities that might
be needed in the case of an emergency.
Who is next in line to serve behind a cabinet
member?
All the Cabinet secretaries have deputies who are,
you know, they go through Senate confirmation,
so they're all, they're spun up on this stuff.
They're ready to take over when they need to.