Mandel Ngan/AFP/Getty Images/File
US Attorney General Merrick Garland arrives for a information convention on the Justice Department in Washington, DC, on November 21, 2023.
NCS
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Attorney General Merrick Garland has resumed his official duties after present process a “minimally invasive back procedure” Saturday, based on a Department of Justice spokesperson.
“The Attorney General’s procedure went well and he’s recovering at home. He has resumed his duties,” Xochitl Hinojosa, director of public affairs for the DOJ, wrote in an electronic mail.
The DOJ announced ahead of the procedure that, whereas Garland could be underneath anesthesia for “about 90 minutes,” Deputy Attorney General Lisa Monaco would assume his duties “shortly before the procedure, during the procedure, and for a brief period following the procedure to allow for recovery from general anesthesia.”
This comes after Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin’s recent hospitalization was not disclosed to the media or to President Joe Biden and different senior administration officers for days.
The defense secretary returned to work on the Pentagon on Monday. He was admitted to the hospital on New Year’s Day resulting from problems from surgical procedure to deal with prostate most cancers in late December.
Austin’s unannounced hospitalization raised main questions on transparency and communication throughout the Biden administration. The White House final month issued new guidelines for company notification of key absences following its evaluation of every federal company’s plans for “delegation of authority” when a Cabinet member is unable to carry out his or her duties.
Additionally, Austin’s chief of workers directed a 30-day evaluation of the Pentagon’s procedures for notifying senior nationwide safety leaders and the White House when the protection secretary must switch authorities to the deputy secretary, which was required throughout Austin’s hospitalization. The Defense Department inspector basic additionally launched a separate investigation into whether or not the Pentagon had the suitable insurance policies in place to make sure an efficient switch of energy and duties.
NCS’s Oren Lieberman and Hannah Rabinowitz contributed to this report.