- Pentagon Secretary Lloyd Austin was admitted to Walter Reed on Sunday
- Comes after he was hospitalized for cancer treatments
Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, 70, is back in hospital due to ’emerging bladder problems’. Austin was transported to Walter Reed Medical Center after the onset of symptoms.
Austin was transported to Walter Reed Medical Center on Sunday afternoon after symptoms emerged.
Deputy Secretary of Defense Kathleen Hicks is “prepared to assume the duties of Secretary as needed and she has been notified along with the Joint Chiefs of Staff, the White House and Congress.” according to Pentagon Press Secretary Major General Pat Ryder.
It comes after Austin faced intense backlash for failing to immediately inform President Joe Biden last month of his cancer diagnosis and his hospitalization to undergo surgery to treat his prostate cancer.
Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin is hospitalized again due to ’emerging bladder problems’
Earlier this month, Austin apologized for keeping his hospitalization a secret.
“I have apologized directly to President Biden. I told him I deeply regret not letting him know immediately,” he said during a press conference at the Pentagon on February 1.
“I should have told the president about my cancer diagnosis, I should have told my team and the American public as well,” he added. ‘I take full responsibility. I apologize to my teammates and to the American people.”
It was the first time he has spoken publicly about his medical scare and it comes as he tries to recover from the scandal of keeping it a secret.