Secretary of Defense Austin Lloyd is back in the hospital after suffering an “emergent bladder issue.” The good news is that Lloyd appears to be okay and that we knew about this visit, unlike Mr. Austin’s previous hospitalization in January, where he was in the intensive care unit for over a week and didn’t tell anyone about it. He also kept his cancer diagnosis a secret, too (via WaPo):
Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin was taken to a hospital Sunday to be evaluated for symptoms “suggesting an emergent bladder issue,” the Pentagon said, less than a month after he spent nearly two weeks in intensive care with complications from a surgery to treat prostate cancer.
Maj. Gen. Patrick Ryder, a Pentagon spokesman, said in a statement that Austin’s security team transported him to Walter Reed National Military Medical Center about 2:20 p.m. The White House, Congress, Deputy Defense Secretary Kathleen Hicks and the Pentagon’s top military officer, Gen. Charles Q. Brown Jr., all have been notified, Ryder said in a brief statement.
“At this time, the Secretary is retaining the functions and duties of his office,” Ryder said. “The Deputy Secretary is prepared to assume the functions and duties of the Secretary of Defense, if required. Secretary Austin traveled to the hospital with the unclassified and classified communications systems necessary to perform his duties.
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The situation marks the latest health setback for the Pentagon chief, who was diagnosed with prostate cancer in December and underwent surgery to treat it Dec. 22. He was taken back to Walter Reed by ambulance from his home in Northern Virginia on Jan. 1 and placed in intensive care for days with side effects that included intense pain and infections of the urinary tract and bladder.
Mr. Austin apologized for his trying to keep his ICU visit a secret. It was arguably a cover-up, given the audio of the 911 call from his aide, who requested a silent arrival for the ambulance. During that incident, Lloyd was suffering from a urinary tract infection from an “elective medical procedure” stemming from his prostate cancer diagnosis, which he later disclosed after the ICU fiasco.
No one knew who was running the Pentagon when Lloyd first visited the hospital. The defense secretary went in on January 1, but it wasn’t until January 4 later that top Biden officials and the president learned of Mr. Lloyd’s hospitalization. It came at a time when Iran-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen were ramping up attacks against American ships in the region, and the Middle East was edging closer to all-out war.
It further added to the narrative that the Biden administration was adrift.
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UPDATE: Austin's duties have been transferred to his deputy, Kathleen Hicks.
NEW: Defense Sec. Austin has transferred the functions and duties of the office of the Sec. of Defense to Deputy Sec. of Defense Kathleen Hicks, Pentagon says.
— ABC News (@ABC) February 12, 2024
Austin was taken to Walter Reed on Sunday for "symptoms suggesting an emergent bladder issue." https://t.co/fy6VVFlwCr
Update: Secretary Austin is still at the hospital and receiving treatment. At approximately 4:55 pm today, he transferred the functions and duties of the office of the Secretary of Defense to Deputy Secretary of Defense Kathleen Hicks. Full statement: https://t.co/ohOQmlG57x
— Maj. Gen. Patrick Ryder (@PentagonPresSec) February 12, 2024