U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin speaks throughout a gathering with Australian Defense Minister Richard Marles and British Defense Secretary Ben Wallace on the Pentagon in Washington, U.S., December 7, 2022.
Kevin Lamarque | Reuters
Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin has been hospitalized since Jan. 1 for issues following a surgical procedure to deal with prostate most cancers, officers at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center mentioned Tuesday.
The information of Austin’s therapy and situation got here after a tortious week throughout which Austin was hospitalized, however the Pentagon refused to say why.
Austin underwent the preliminary prostate most cancers surgical procedure on Dec. 25, throughout which he was below common anesthesia, in line with docs from Walter Reed.
On Jan. 1, Austin skilled issues from the surgical procedure together with nausea and severe belly, hip and leg ache, which was later recognized as a urinary tract an infection. On Jan. 2, he was admitted to the intensive care unit at Walter Reed the place he was treated for intestinal points.
Austin, who’s sixth in line for the presidency, didn’t disclose his emergency hospitalization to White House officers till Jan. 4, a lapse in communication that comes with nationwide safety dangers. The explanation for his hospital keep was unknown till Tuesday’s announcement.
The main notification failures and questions, nonetheless unanswered, about Austin’s delegation of command have shaken confidence in Austin on Capitol Hill, and led to calls for his resignation by some lawmakers.
“Secretary Austin has taken accountability for the problems with transparency, and the Department is taking rapid steps to enhance our notification procedures,” mentioned Pentagon Press Secretary Air Force Maj. Gen. Pat Ryder.
Ryder mentioned at a Tuesday press briefing that Austin’s chief of employees has instructed Pentagon officers to conduct a “30-day evaluate of the division’s notification course of for assumption of features and duties of the Secretary of Defense.”
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