The head of the Pentagon, Lloyd Austin, whose secret hospitalizations sparked controversy in January, was again admitted to the hospital on Sunday February 11 and delegated his functions to his deputy, the defense ministry announced, specifying that the White House and Congress had this time been immediately notified.
Mr. Austin, who was diagnosed with prostate cancer and recently underwent surgery, was taken to a military facility in suburban Washington to “ an urgent bladder problem », Ministry spokesperson Pat Ryder said in a statement.
“At approximately 4:55 p.m. today, Secretary Austin transferred duties” from the department to Deputy Secretary of Defense Kathleen Hicks. This assumes ” functions “ of Mr. Austin, continued this spokesperson. Hours earlier, the Pentagon had indicated that Mr. Austin had “returned to the hospital with the necessary classified and unclassified communications systems” to carry out its functions.
Avoid a new uproar
During a press conference on 1er February, Mr. Austin apologized for keeping his cancer a secret, a matter that had caused uproar in the country. Because in the middle of an election year and while the United States is involved in two major conflicts, in Ukraine and in the Gaza Strip, Mr. Austin was operated on and hospitalized twice, in December and January, without the president Joe Biden knows nothing about it.
” It was a mistake “, admitted the minister during this press briefing to which he presented himself with a still stiff gait. Mr. Austin indicated that he had “directly” apologized to Mr. 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 informed 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.