US Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin handed over his official duties to his deputy after returning to Walter Reed National Military Medical Center on Sunday, Politico reported.
Pentagon spokesman Pat Ryder stated that Austin “was retaining the functions and duties of his office,” transferring them to Kathleen Hicks, deputy secretary of defence.
Secretary of Defence Lloyd J. Austin III was transported by his security detail to Walter Reed National Military Medical Centre to be seen for symptoms suggesting an emergent bladder issue.
The White House, members of Congress and the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff (Air Force Gen. C.Q. Brown Jr.) have been notified of Austin’s latest health issue. Recently, Austin was hospitalised at Walter Reed in Bethesda, Maryland, due to complications from surgery he underwent in December for prostate cancer.
Last time, Austin did not immediately notify other government leaders of his hospitalisation, with even the White House not knowing where he was at the time.
