Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin was hospitalized Monday night after suffering complications related to a recent elective medical procedure, the Pentagon announced Friday.
“He is recovering well and expects to resume full duty today,” Pentagon spokesman Air Force Maj. Gen. Pat Ryder said in a statement.
“At all times, the Deputy Secretary of Defense is ready to act and exercise the powers of the Secretary, if necessary,” he added.
Ryder did not say when Austin, 70, would be released from Walter Reed National Army Medical Center and said several elements were at play when deciding when to tell the media about the defense secretary’s hospitalization.
“This has become an evolving situation where we have to consider a number of factors including medical and personal privacy issues,” Ryder told reporters.
The Pentagon Press Association slammed the decision to keep Austin’s hospitalizations from the public.
Lloyd Austin has been hospitalized since Monday, an Air Force general said. Reuters
“The fact that he has been at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center for four days and the Pentagon only informed the public late on Friday afternoon is an outrage,” the group said in a letter to Ryder and Assistant Secretary of Defense for Public Affairs Chris Meagher.
“It is well below the normal disclosure standards common to other federal departments when senior officials undergo medical procedures or are temporarily disabled,” the letter continued.
Austin is a retired four-star Army general who served 41 years in the military.
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Source: thtrangdai.edu.vn/en/
