Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin is responsible for the Pentagon neglecting to tell Congress and the White House that the former Army general was incapacitated last year due to treatment for prostate cancer as his office is required to do.

The Pentagon’s watchdog, in a highly critical report released Wednesday, faults Austin for the communications failures early last year.

Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin's failure to inform Congress or the White House as required when he was incapacitated due to treatment for prostate cancer and later complications potentially raised "unnecessary" security risks,