Defense Secretary Austin hospitalized with bladder issue, but ‘retaining the functions’ of office
WASHINGTON — Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin was hospitalized on Sunday after symptoms suggested an “emerging bladder problem,” the Pentagon said.
In a statement, the Pentagon said Austin was transported by his security detail to Walter Reed National Military Medical Center around 2:20 p.m. He “will maintain the functions and duties of his office,” said Pentagon press secretary Maj. Gen. Pat Ryder. , who added that Deputy Defense Secretary Kathleen Hicks has been notified and is prepared to assume Austin’s duties “if necessary.”
The chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff was also informed, as were the White House and some members of Congress.
Ryder said Austin traveled to the hospital with the unclassified and classified communications systems needed to perform his job.
Austin was scheduled to leave for Brussels on Tuesday to hold a meeting of the Ukrainian Contact Group, which he founded in 2022 to coordinate military support to Kiev after the Russian invasion. Afterwards, Austin would attend a regular meeting of NATO defense ministers. It was not immediately clear whether this hospitalization would change those plans.
Austin was diagnosed with prostate cancer in December and underwent a procedure called a prostatectomy on December 22 to treat it.
Over the next week, he developed complications and on January 1, he was taken by ambulance to Walter Reed in extreme pain, where he was admitted to the intensive care unit. Austin remained at Walter Reed until January 15. He then continued to recover and work from home, returning to the Pentagon on January 29.
His doctors have previously said that his prognosis against the cancer is “excellent” and that no further treatments will be required.
Austin has returned to Walter Reed for follow-ups since his hospitalization, but this is his first unplanned trip due to lingering complications from his cancer treatments.
Austin did not tell President Joe Biden, Congress or his deputy defense secretary for weeks about his cancer diagnosis or his first hospitalization. That secrecy has become the subject of an Inspector General investigation and an internal Pentagon investigation. He has previously said he never instructed his staff to keep his hospitalization a secret.