The White House is laying out new guidelines to keep better informed about Cabinet secretaries. The new directive comes after President Biden and his top aides were kept in the dark for days about Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin’s secret hospitalization. White House chief of staff Jeff Zients issued the guidelines. They include a half-dozen instructions for Cabinet agencies to follow when secretaries temporarily transfer their authority to a deputy if he or she is unreachable due to medical issues, travel, or other reasons.