The Pentagon said the defense secretary was being treated for “symptoms suggestive of an emergency bladder problem.”
The Pentagon announced that Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin has been hospitalized for the second time in the past month, following an earlier hospitalization that drew criticism for a lack of transparency.
Austin, who was treated for prostate cancer last year, was taken to Walter Reed National Military Medical Center for “symptoms suggestive of an urgent bladder problem,” the Pentagon said in a statement Sunday.
Austin, 70, has “transferred the functions and duties of his office to Deputy Secretary of Defense Kathleen Hicks,” the statement said.
Austin's hospitalization comes after he faced criticism from lawmakers on both sides of the aisle for weeks of not disclosing his cancer diagnosis and subsequent hospitalization to President Joe Biden, Congress, or his representatives. I was disappointed.
Austin apologized earlier this month for not being more transparent about his health issues, which coincided with security crises in the Middle East and Ukraine.
“I should have told the president about my cancer diagnosis,” he told reporters on February 1.
Biden rejected calls to fire Austin, even though he agreed the defense secretary made a mistake in judgment.
Austin, a former four-star general who led troops in Iraq, was hospitalized on January 1 after suffering complications from cancer surgery he underwent a week earlier.
He was hospitalized for two weeks and continued his recovery while working from home for another two weeks.
Austin's handling of the situation is the subject of three investigations, including one by the Department of Defense's Office of the Inspector General.
Mr. Austin was scheduled to leave for Brussels on Tuesday for a meeting of the alliance created to coordinate military aid to Ukraine to counter Russian aggression.
It was not immediately clear whether the trip would take place after Austin's hospitalization.
