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whether you live here or right here or way out in the middle of anywhere, you should have access to fast, reliable internet. that's why we're leading the way. >> mediacom supports c-span as a public service along with these other television providers, giving you a front row seat to democracy. >> defense secretary lloyd austin briefed reporters at the pentagon. it was his first press conference since recovering from complications due to prostate cancer surgery over the holidays. he began his remarks by paying tribute to the three american soldiers killed in jordan.

>> thank you, everybody, for being here today. it is my honor to welcome secretary lloyd austin. he will give a statement and then take questions. i will moderate the questions. raise your handened awill call on you. that mr. secretary. sec.: it'seen a difful days for the department of defense and the entire department is united in our sorrow over the deaths of three u.s. service members on sunday in jordan. we 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.moffatt, age 23. our thoughts and prayers are with their families and their loved ones and we know this geef will never leave them. 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 -- when an attack drone struck their quarters. we continue to gather information about this deadlyr n to support inherent resolve and to ensure the lasting defeat of isis. they risked their lives and lost their laifs to keep their fellow

americans safe from global terrorism. 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 vile hamas assault on israel on october 7, 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 interests, and our people. and we will respond when we choose, where we choose, and how

we choose. 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. 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 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 ameca people. 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 tke sure that any lapses in notification don't happen. in the future, if the deputy se to temporarily assume the duties of my office she and several white house offices will be immediately notified, including the white house situation room. so will key officials across the department. and the reason for that assumption of duties will be included in writing. now, i want you all to know thas 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 liked the -- i never liked burdening others with my problems. it's just not my way. what i have learned from this experience is, taking this kind of job means losing some of the privacy most of us expect. the american people have a right to know if their leaders are facing medical 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 we have an ongoing internal review as well as a d.o.d. inspector genre view that we fully support so i may have to discuss some aspects later. now let me back up a bit. as you know, on 22nd december, i had a minimally invasive proceed wrur 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 1, i felt severe leg pain, and pain in the abdomen and hip. that evening, an ambulance took me to walter reed. the doctors found i had several issues that needed treatment including a bladder infection, and abdominal problems. on january 2, 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. 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 are notified of this through our regular email notification procedures. and i never directed anyone to keep my january hospitalization

from the white house. on january 5, 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 have apologized directly to president biden. and i've told him i'm deeply sorry for not letting him know immediately that i had received a heavy diagnosis and was getting treatment. and he has responded with the grace and warm heart that anyone who knows president biden would

expect. and i'm grateful for his full confidence in me. finally, i also miss 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. i'm here with a clear message to other men, especially older men. get screened. get your regular checkups. prostate cancer has a glass jar. if your doctor can spot it, they can treat it and beat it. 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 -- today and for the rest of my life. again, i want to thank everyone for their well wishes and their great support. with that, i'll take your

questions. >> thank you, mr. secretary. first question to the associated press. reporter: thank you, mr. secretary. you said 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 k.h. statement today that they are postponing or not doing any more attacks? thank you. sec. austin: to answer your question on whether or not i directed my staff to conceal any hospitalization from anyone else, the answer is no. in terms of my response to k.h.'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. >> next question to fox. jennifer. reporter: during that time you were in the intensive care unit, there was an air strike 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 sniem 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? is or is the point not to kill

in i-- kill any iranian commanders? sec. atin: regarding the strike on the aides, that strike was planned. 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 is 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 controls on that particular strike. so that -- i was very much involved in planning and recommendations for that. and we knew that that would take place within a matter of days.

in terms of telegraphing about strikes and whether or not people leave or would have left, i don't speculate on any of that. i would just tell you that, you know, 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. >> to reuters, bill. reporter: what did your deputy know about your condition, and when did she know it? sec. austin: i think in terms of what she knew and didn't know, i think we should probably let that come out of the rerue. i think -- i won't speculate on what she knew and did not know based on what information was passed to her. again, i think the details of that will come out of one or

both of those reviews. reporter: you say you didn't direct your staff to hide the truth or lie but did you create a culture of secrecy that the staff interpreted your desires or your intentions when it came to you getting sick? sec. austin: yeah, you know, i -- i don't think i created a culture of secrecy. i think there will be security officerser members who may perce that they're doing things in my best interest. and you know, i can't -- 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. they always want to, intend to do the right things. but in terms of what one may or

may not have we are seveed at any point in time, i won't speculate on it.■k reporter: thank you for doing this. and i think on behalf of all of us, we wish you a speedy recovery. i want to ask about the current situation in the middle east. the message has been deterrence, deterring the atbaiks the houthi, deterring attacks by the militias. has deterrence failed? and if you are going to retaliate at the time and place of your choosing, is that not an escalation particularly given the rhetoric with iran? and a question on your recovery, sir. at any point did you feel that you -- you were in a situation that caused you to possibly consider resigning given all the political attention that developed as a result of this? sec. austin: in terms of resignation, the answer isno. in terms of escalation in the

middle east, you know, our goal was to make sure that we contain this crisis in gaza. and that we prevented things from spreading to a wider conflict. 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 7. and you can -- we can go back and count the numbers of attacks before october 7, and they're not insignificant. there are things that are ongoing now, things that are not ongoing, you know, we don't see a conflict, an all-out conflict between israel and lebanese hezbollah and so i think managing that, i think, is -- has been artfully done.

so we remain in contact with our israeli counterparts and make sure that that doesn't blossom into war on another front. we don't see israel engaged in a conflict with other countries in the region. we're not at war with iran. and 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. this is not -- this is not a u.s. issue. this is an international issue. we're going to either be serious about the freedom of navigation, and -- or we're not. and so as we look at partners like the u.k. 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 us, to see how serious we are about this.

and we are serious. and again, our partners an 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. we will 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. reporter: sir, commission races on your -- commiserations on your illness, good to see you back on your feet. you said you never directed the staff to of your hospitalization from anyone. did any senior members of your family or your wife direct people to keep this a secret? sec. austin: to my knowledge, no

members -- 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 -- we should let that -- the facts come out as the review is done. reporter: can i ask you one more question? 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 reinforces culture of secrecy amongst black men about prs tate cancer? sec. austin: you mentioned, and it's probably not an issue of secrecy as much as it's an issue of privacy. this is a very -- cancer, period, is very private. and there may be cancer

survivors amongst us in this room right now. i know there is -- there are at least a couple. but you know how private that is. and you the 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. reporter: you went to the hospital on december 22. was your staff aware you had gone to the hospital? if so, why didn't they tell the white house? you went back to the hospital onian 1, an aide told the dispatcher, when the ambulance arrives, no like no sirens. did you direct the aide to say

that? sec. austin: i asked my assistant to call the ambulance. i did not direct him to do anything further than just call the ambulance. what he said and why he said it, i think that should come out in the review as well. reporter: what about december 22 when you went to the hospital the first time, was your staff aware and why didn't they tell the white house? sec. austin: when i went in on december 22, i went in for that procedure. my dews were transferred to the deputy, that was planned. i decided to stay in the hospital overnight, didn't have to, decided to stay there overnight because of the anesthesia that was involved. then the next day, later in the afternoon, early evening, we transferred authorities back. reporter: but were your staff aware? reporter: mr. secretary, we wish you good health, thank you for tierk questions. i have two querks i'll start with the first one on your hospitalization. you were hospitalized for days

before you in evidence white house or the commander in chief of your condition and your absence. anyone else within the military chain of command would have faced reprimand or even dismissal. why shouldn't that same standard apply to you, sir? sec. austin: let me just say, 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 the review is conducted. reporter: if i can follow up about the situation overseas 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 u.s. waited until american service members were

killed to escalate its response? sec. austin: 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. many of them, most of them, we're going to defend oursees against. whenever we conduct a strike, we're going to hit at what we're aiming at. we're going to take away kipbility, we're going -- take away capability, we're going to do what we're desiring to do. so this particular attack was egregious in that the attack was on the sleeping area of one of our base. and again, we have -- hezbollah and other elements continue to

attack our troops and again, i think at this point, we should -- it'time to take away even more capability than we've taken in the past. 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. we also look to make sure that we can't to take away capability from them as we go forward. >> next question. "washington post." reporter: welcome back, mr. secretary. first of all, the chairman of the house armed variouses committee, one of the main oversight comtt building, has asked if you'll come testify on a specific date. will you do that? and 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 u.s. response is elevating their status, they've demonstrated their ability to withstand years bombing in the past and more broadly played into the hands of the iranians that support the houthis an other groups when the goal of president biden and 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. sec. austin: what was the first part of the question? reporter: will you testify as chairman rogers has asked? sec. austin: congress has had some very relevant questions that they've asked us. and we will continue to 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. reporter: on the middle east? are you playing into the hands of houthis or iran? sec. austin: if you look at what the hue toes are doing, they're attacking commercial shipping. initially they said they were attacking commercial shipping because these ships were supporting israel. they've attacked the ships that have the interest of some 50 countries that are not supporting israel. and so this is -- this is an international crime. and this is something we have to do about it. in terms of elevating the status of the houthi, 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.

>> to cbs, david. reporter: 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 is a very demanding job? sec. austin: nobody recognizes that more than me. that's the first time i've used that golf cart, by the way. i think it's pretty neat. my leg will con to improve. the doctors are confident that it will. my p.t. specialist, wh i think -- 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. reporter: do you know how much time? sec. austin: no, they can't put a number in terms of days or

weeks. but it'll be incremental improvement. i won't be ready for the olympics, but i'll improve. >> to a.f.p. reporter: thank you, mr. secretary. does the u.s. need to escalate its military actions or do something new or unprecedented in order to deter iranian and its proxies? and how can that be done without sparking a broader i think evere recognizes the challenges to make sure we hold the right people accountable and do everything necessary to protect our troops and we manage things so they don't escalate. i don't think there is any set formula for doing this. but i think in everything we do as we work our way through the decision making process with the national security council, we are 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 -- there are ways to manage this so it doesn't spiral out of control and that has been our focus throughout. >> al-jazerra. reporter: i have two things, back in december in your speech at the reagan library you told israeli leaders they have to -- [indiscernible] since that speech, 12,000 more have been 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 palestinians and what elements they are calling for ethnic cleansing and displacement of

palestinians, don't palestinians have the right to dignity as you said in angola. you said the future belongs to those who stand for it. secretary austin: i have said it and i have said it to my counterpart every time i talk to him and i talk to him every week. i emphasize the importance of protecting civilian lives and emphasize the importance of providing humanitarian assistance to the palestinians. it's critical. it's really important. there is no question that is a tough conflict. but as i said earlier, we are starting to see the israelis kind of shift their stance and change their approach to a more focused and controlled --

controlled is probably not the right word, focused effort based on a discrete set of objectives. i think we talked to them about that weeks ago. and they said they were going to do that and are doing that. but i will continue to emtay size and i know secretary blinken and president biden will emphasize the importance of addressing the issue of the palestinian people. it's critical. and we are doing more, but we're not doing enough. >> let's go to cnn. reporter: speedy recovery. 30-day review. do you commit to making that review public? has your chief of staff offered her resignation or have there been discussions in the wake of the failure to notify?

secretary austin: i commit to being as transparent as possible and sharing as much as possible and you'll understand this is a command and control of policies of our government here. there will be elements of this that are classified. but we are committed to sharing as much as possible as soon as possible. reporter: your chief of staff, has she offered her resignation? secretary austin: she has not. >> pbs. reporter: we wish you a full recovery. you described this as a gut punch, your instinct to privacy. you had nearly a month between the time you learned of your cancer and the time this came out to inform president. how can you think it was not

right not to tell him. what do youelieve iran knew operationally about the attack in jordan and how important is that when it comes to u.s. response? secretary austin: so, when the diagnosis was made, doctor highlighted you have a finite window of time to get this done. if you go beyond that window, then you will have a problem. christmas holidays were coming up. for me with as little ct what we're doing in the department. christmas was the time 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. in terms of informing the president, again, i admit that

that was a mistake not to talk to him about it early on. as president of the united states, you have a lot of things on your plate. putting my personal issue, adding to all the things he has on his plate, i just didn't feel that was the thing i should do at the time. but again, i recognize that was a mistake and i should have done it differently. reporter: what iran knew about the attack in jordan and how they were involved. secretary austin: this was done by an element of what is known of the actors of resistance and iranian proxy groups. and how much iran knew or didn't know, it doesn't matter because iran sponsors these groups and funds these groups and some cases trains these groups on advanced conventional weapons.

again, without that facilitation these kinds of things don't happen. >> f.t. and then politico to close it out. reporter: have you seen any signs that china has been successful to rein the attacks in the red sea? secretary austin: i have not. in terms of closed communications between leaders, we don't know, but we have not seen any visible evidence that they are encouraging or pressuring iran to cause the houthis to back off of what they have been doing. >> final question. reporter: i have two questions. first of all, do you regret not personally telling the deputies the two times you were in the hospital and authority was

transferred to her. do you think she had a right to know? secretary austin: as you heard me say, i apologized to all my colleagues and also the american people that i wasn't as transparent as i probably should have been upfront. reporter: any discussion about withdrawing troops from syria or iraq regarding the last two couple of weeks? secretary austin: it is not consideration of withdrawing troops. there are discussions with the iraqiy relationship about our future footprint in iraq and i think that has been publicized. we have taken the first steps in conducting those meetings. and so that will play out over time.

reporter: does that include about withdrawing troops? secretary austin: it will include discussions about our footprint going forward. >> thank you ladies and gentlemen. that's all the time we have today. >> we are still doing the forrensics. most of the drones in the region have a connection with iran. [indiscernible question] secretary austin: you know, i don't think the adversaries are of a one and done mindset. they have a lot of capabilities. i have a lieutenant more. and so -- i have a lot more. we are going to do what is necessary to protect our troops and our interests. >> thank you.

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org. >> c-span is unfiltered view of government and funded by these televisi companies and more or @ cspanwj. the ceo from meta had apologized to the families who had gathered for the hearing blaming the social media companies for victimizing children. [video clip] >>