In the United States, the health condition of Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin is complicated, who was admitted to an intensive care unit on Sunday evening, according to doctors at the Walter Reed National Military Medical Center near Washington.
Recently, Austin had been hospitalized for a bladder conditionwhich forced him to take part in an “urgent review” at the time.
Using the protocol specified for these situations, Austin transferred his duties to Undersecretary of Defense Kathleen Hicks at approximately 4:55 p.m. local time on Sunday, and the White House, the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and Congress were informed of the change reported. Brigadier General Pat Ryder, Pentagon press secretary.
From the hospital, Austin maintains active “classified and unclassified communications systems necessary to carry out its functions.”Ryder has been explaining it for the last few hours. “It is currently unclear how long the minister will remain in hospital,” the official added.
Given the situation A trip planned by Austin to Brussels and Germany was canceledand that would last from Tuesday to Saturday.
Ryder had originally said that Austin, 70, would “retain” his functions and duties in the position.While the Secretary of State was warming up, he found himself in an emergency, which eventually occurred.
Austin had previously been hospitalized an infection resulting from prostate cancer surgery last December 22nd. The illness left him in the intensive care unit for days and had to carry out his duties from home for almost two weeks after his discharge from Walter Reed.
His hospitalization caused controversy on Capitol Hill after lawmakers learned that the White House and Hicks were not informed of his hospitalization until Jan. 4. That is, three days after the accident. Austin didn’t announce his prostate cancer diagnosis until Jan. 9, nearly a month after a health exam discovered the cancer in early December.
Earlier this month, the minister was forced to publicly apologize for, and admitted to, failing to inform administration officials “He didn’t handle it properly.”, he explained. At a news conference, Austin said he never ordered his staff to keep the hospitalization at Walter Reed secret but acknowledged he failed to notify him.
“I want to be very clear: we did not handle this correctly. I didn’t handle this properly. I should have told the president about my cancer diagnosis.“He said. He continued: “I, too, should have informed my team and the American public, and I take full responsibility.” “I apologize to my teammates and the American people.”
The incident prompted the Pentagon to launch a 30-day internal review of policies and procedures., while the Defense Department’s inspector general has said it is also investigating the incident. The White House has already changed its policy in response to the events and instructed Cabinet secretaries to notify if they are unable to fulfill their duties.
Austin’s health complication couldn’t come at a worse time for Democrats. The so-called Republican defense hawks in the House of Representatives (a fierce wing of critics on national security issues) have asked him to testify before the Armed Services Committee on February 29.
At the moment, The United States is trying to advance a diplomatic situation in the conflict between Israel and Hamas in the Gaza Strip, while Tel Aviv has carried out a military operation that rescued two hostages from the Palestinian group in the enclave, but which has led to complaints of excesses and an alleged “massacre” – according to Hamas – during the operation. Washington is also leading the fight against Houthi rebels who are attacking ships in the Black Sea.