BRENDAN SMIALOWSKI / AFP
American Defense Minister Lloyd Austin, whose secret hospitalizations had sparked controversy, was again admitted to hospital on Sunday, the Pentagon announced, specifying that the White House had this time been immediately notified.
The official, who was diagnosed with prostate cancer and recently underwent surgery, was taken to a military facility in suburban Washington for what appeared to be a bladder problem, the official said in a statement. – ministry spokesperson, Pat Ryder. For the moment, he retains his prerogatives, he added. The Minister “went to the hospital with the classified and unclassified communications systems necessary to carry out his duties”according to PatRyder.
His deputy stands ready to take over Lloyd Austin’s duties if necessary, he said. During a press conference on February 1, the Minister of Defense apologized for having kept his cancer secret, a matter which caused an uproar in the country. Because in the middle of an election year and while the United States, the world’s leading military power, is closely following two major conflicts in Ukraine and the Gaza Strip, Mr. Austin was operated on and hospitalized twice in December and January without President Joe Biden knows nothing about it.
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“It was a mistake”, admitted the minister during this press briefing to which he presented himself with a still stiff gait. Lloyd Austin indicated that he had “directly” apologized to Joe Biden and that the latter had reacted “with grace”. The affair had caused astonishment even in the Democratic camp and sparked calls from Republicans for the resignation of Lloyd Austin. This time, his ministry promptly communicated about his new hospitalization: the media were notified about two hours after his departure for Walter Reed Hospital.
And notifications have been sent to the White House and Congress, according to Pat Ryder. The controversy over his health problems came as U.S. forces in Iraq and Syria are regularly targeted by attacks from Iran-backed fighters, according to Washington.