Update: Late Sunday night, the Pentagon updated its report on Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin. He is in the critical care unit of Walter Reed after having undergone a series of tests. The Defense Department said it is unclear how long he will be hospitalized.
On Sunday afternoon, Secretary of Defense Lloyd J. Austin III was transported by his security detail to Walter Reed National Military Medical Center to be seen for symptoms suggesting an emergent bladder issue, the Pentagon said in a statement. He was admitted overnight.
The Deputy Secretary of Defense and the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff have been notified. Additionally, White House and Congressional notifications have occurred, unlike his previous hospitalizations, which he kept secret.
“At this time, the Secretary is retaining the functions and duties of his office. 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,” the Pentagon said.
In a later press statement, the Pentagon said all of Austin’s duties and functions were transferred to Deputy Defense Secretary Kathleen Hicks at about 4:55 p.m. Sunday.
Austin spent two weeks in the hospital after a medical crisis that occurred after prostate cancer surgery in December. While the president was on vacation and the deputy secretary of defense was also out of the country on vacation, Austin didn’t initially inform them of his condition or the fact he was in the intensive care unit.
But Biden has appeared to forgive Austin for the poor judgment. On Feb. 29, Austin is expected to testify to the House Armed Services Committee about his previous hospitalizations and the secrecy surrounding them.
