US Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin, diagnosed with prostate cancer in December, was hospitalised again on Sunday due to symptoms indicating an urgent bladder issue, according to the Pentagon.
In a statement, the Pentagon announced that Austin was transported to Walter Reed National Military Medical Center around 2:20 pm by his security detail.
Initially, Austin was expected to maintain the “functions and duties of his office,” but around 5 pm on Sunday, he transferred those authorities to Deputy Secretary of Defense Kathleen Hicks. As of Sunday evening, he remained hospitalized, according to Pentagon Press Secretary Maj Gen Pat Ryder.
The chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, along with the White House and Congress, was also notified of Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin’s hospitalization.
Ryder confirmed that Austin had brought the unclassified and classified communications systems required to fulfils his responsibilities with him to the hospital.
Austin was slated to leave for Brussels on Tuesday to convene a meeting of the Ukraine contact group, which he established in 2022 to coordinate military aid for Kyiv following Russia’s invasion. Subsequently, he was scheduled to participate in a routine gathering of NATO defense ministers.
It remained uncertain whether this hospitalization would alter those plans.
He was diagnosed with prostate cancer in December and underwent a prostatectomy procedure to treat it on December 22.
Over the following week, he experienced complications, and on January 1, due to extreme pain, he was transported by ambulance to Walter Reed and admitted to the intensive care unit. Austin stayed at Walter Reed until January 15.
Subsequently, he continued to recuperate and fulfils his duties from home, ultimately returning to the Pentagon on January 29.
His doctors have previously indicated that his prognosis against the cancer is “excellent” and that no additional treatments will be necessary.
He has gone back to Walter Reed for follow-ups since his hospitalization, but this is his first unscheduled trip due to continued complications from his cancer treatments.
Austin did not inform President Joe Biden, Congress, or his deputy defense secretary of his cancer diagnosis or initial hospitalization for weeks. The secrecy surrounding this matter has become the subject of an inspector general investigation and a Pentagon internal review. He has previously stated that he never instructed his staff to keep his hospitalization a secret.