The US Secretary of Defense delegates his duties to his deputy after being admitted to the hospital

A Pentagon spokesman announced that US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin, who is suffering from prostate cancer, has delegated his duties to his deputy on Sunday, hours after he was admitted to the hospital due to an emergency bladder problem.

Spokesman Pat Ryder said in a statement, “At approximately 16:55, Secretary Austin transferred the ministry’s duties to Deputy Secretary of Defense Kathleen Hicks.

He added that Hicks is handling Austin’s missions, noting that the minister is still receiving treatment and that the White House and Congress have been informed of this.

Hours ago, the Pentagon said that Austin went to the hospital with the necessary classified and unclassified communications systems to perform his duties.

Austin was transferred to the hospital again on Sunday, this time due to an emergency bladder problem, weeks after his previous admission sparked controversy after he kept it a secret.

Austin disappeared from sight in late December, and also in early January, after suffering complications resulting from a prostate operation on December 22.

He initially concealed his cancer diagnosis and hospitalization from President Joe Biden.

But this time, it was announced two hours later that Austin had been admitted to the hospital on Sunday.

Pentagon spokesman Pat Ryder said in a statement that the Army, the White House and Congress had been informed.

Ryder said that Austin was transferred by his security guards to Walter Reed National Military Medical Center for an examination, due to symptoms indicating an emergency bladder problem.

He added, “I’ve notified the Deputy Minister of Defense and the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff… In addition, the White House and Congress have been notified”.

Austin apologized earlier this month after being subjected to severe political criticism for being secretly hospitalized the first time.

“I should have informed the president of my cancer diagnosis,” he told reporters on February 1.

He added at the time that he was still recovering, suffering from leg pain, and using a golf cart to get around the Pentagon.

This comes at a time when the United States is facing an escalating crisis in the Middle East, and its forces in Iraq and Syria are being subjected to almost daily attacks by Iranian-backed militants in response to Washington’s steadfast support for Israel.

The senior Pentagon official is also considered a central figure in the Biden administration’s push to maintain US military support for Ukraine in the face of the Russian invasion, at a time when Republican members of Congress refuse to approve new funding for military aid to Kiev.