US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin was taken to Walter Reed National Army Medical Center outside Washington on Sunday after experiencing symptoms of an “emerging bladder issue,” the Pentagon said.
The Defense Department said in a statement that the White House had been notified and that Austin had transferred “the functions and duties of the office” to Deputy Defense Secretary Kathleen Hicks.
“Today, at approximately 2:20 p.m., Secretary of Defense Lloyd J. Austin III was sent by his security detail to Walter Reed National Army Medical Center to be seen for symptoms suggesting an emerging bladder issue,” Pentagon Press Secretary Maj. Gen. . Pat Ryder said in a statement Sunday afternoon.
Austin, 70, has come under scrutiny over his decision to shield his prostate cancer diagnosis and recent hospitalization from White House and Pentagon officials, including President Biden.
The defense secretary apparently tried to hide his Jan. 1 admission to Walter Reed after complications related to December surgery to treat prostate cancer.
Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin was taken to the hospital for an “emerging bladder problem.” Getty Images
Although Austin is famously private, critics argue he lost some right to personal privacy when he took the nation’s top defense job.
Austin has agreed to testify on Capitol Hill later this month about his decision to shield his initial hospitalization from White House and Pentagon officials.
Deputy Secretary of Defense Kathleen Hicks has assumed Austin’s duties, according to the Pentagon. War Horse News
In January, House Armed Services Committee Chairman Mike Rogers (R-Ala.) launched a formal congressional investigation into the hospitalization of the Defense chief.
Rogers demanded a “detailed account” of Austin’s stay at the hospital and how he communicated his absence to Pentagon and Biden administration officials.
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Source: thtrangdai.edu.vn/en/
