White House firms up notification rules for Cabinet members after Lloyd Austin’s hospitalization
The administration conducted a review of all Cabinet agency notification plans following Defense Secretary Austin's failure to notify the White House that he was in the hospital.
WASHINGTON — The Biden administration is standardizing rules aimed at ensuring the White House is promptly notified when a Cabinet secretary is unable to carry out their duties.
In a memo obtained by NBC News, White House chief of staff Jeff Zients on Friday detailed the steps federal agencies must now follow when it comes to delegating authority. The move comes after Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin failed to disclose his hospitalization to the White House for several days earlier this month.
"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 said in the memo.
The White House previously asked agencies to submit their notification plans in the event of a Cabinet secretary's authority being delegated elsewhere.
Zients said Friday that the guidelines include requirements that an agency notify the White House chief of staff, document the delegation in writing and ensure that agencies delegate authority if a Cabinet member is "undergoing hospitalization or a medical procedure requiring general anesthesia."
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