Defense Sec. Lloyd Austin secretly received medical treatments for prostate cancer and a urinary tract infection that even President Joe Biden was not aware of, the Associated Press reports.

Although Austin was diagnosed more than a month ago and was hospitalized for eight days, neither Biden nor any administration official was aware of the Secretary's procedure until Tuesday (Jan. 9), a controversial move in which the Pentagon failed to update the White House and Congress about his health for several days.

“Nobody at the White House knew that Secretary Austin had prostate cancer until this morning,” National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said according to the AP, “and the president was informed immediately after.”

On Dec. 22, Austin, 70, the nation’s first Black Defense Secretary, was admitted to Walter Reed National Military Medical Center where surgery was performed on his cancer, and was diagnosed with a UTI a week later following experiencing “nausea and severe abdominal, hip and leg pain due to the infection.”

During a regular screening in early December, Austin’s cancer was discovered and he “underwent a minimally invasive surgical procedure”  and was released from the facility the next day, according to the report.

Austin’s doctors said he underwent a prostatectomy, which is “a common procedure to remove all or part of the prostate gland.”

Maj. Gen. Pat Ryder, Pentagon press secretary, said in a briefing on Tuesday that it was developed in consultation with Austin’s doctors.

“Despite the frequency of prostate cancer, discussions about screening, treatment, and support are often deeply personal and private ones,” Ryder said.

Dr. David Penson, chair of the urology department at Vanderbilt University said the procedure is  “not as big a deal as it once was,” 

“It’s not all that different than, say, having your gallbladder removed with a laparoscope,” Penson said.

The apparent miscommunication about Austin’s health status has led to many questions. It wasn’t until Jan. 4 that Kelly Magsamen, Austin’s chief of staff, told the White House about his hospitalization, CBS News reported. The next day, the Senate Armed Services Committee was updated about Austin’s health.

According to Ryder, officials received late notifications of Austin’s health because Magsamen was out with the flu.

The way Austin's condition was handled has caused congressional Republicans to call for his firing or resignation.

"It's a little crazy that we effectively lost track of arguably the second most important person in the government, which is the secretary of defense," GOP Sen. J.D. Vance of Ohio said. "So I think it reflects really poorly on the White House. It reflects very poorly on the leadership of the Department of Defense. And if this isn't cause for resignation, and actually finding somebody who can do the job, I don't know what is."

In response to the matter, Chief of Staff Jeff Zients sent a memo to Cabinet secretaries “directing them to send to the White House by Friday any existing procedures for delegating authority in the event of incapacitation or loss of communication.”

“Agencies should ensure that delegations are issued when a Cabinet Member is traveling to areas with limited or no access to communication, undergoing hospitalization or a medical procedure requiring general anesthesia, or otherwise in a circumstance when he or she may be unreachable,” Zients’ memo said. 

Despite the controversy, White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre noted at the press briefing on Tuesday that Biden still has “full confidence” in Austin.