White House sets new guidelines for Cabinet notifications after Austin’s secret hospitalization

By SEUNG MIN KIM
The Associated Press

WASHINGTON (AP) — The White House is laying out a new set of guidelines to ensure it will be informed any time a Cabinet head can’t carry out their job. The new directive comes after Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin’s secret hospitalization this month was kept for days from President Joe Biden and his top aides. The new guidelines include a half-dozen instructions for Cabinet agencies to follow when there is a “delegation of authority,” or when secretaries temporarily transfer their authority to a deputy if he or she is unreachable due to medical issues, travel or other reasons. White House chief of staff Jeff Zients launched a review of existing notification procedures earlier this month.