US defence chief Lloyd Austin admitted to critical care, transfers powers to his deputy
- Lloyd Austin, 70, hospitalised again following recent complications from prostate cancer
- Pentagon chief has transferred powers to Deputy Defence Secretary Kathleen Hicks
US Secretary of Defence Lloyd Austin, who is fighting prostate cancer, transferred his duties to his deputy hours after being admitted to a critical care unit in Washington for what a Pentagon spokesman called “an emergent bladder issue”.
Deputy Secretary of Defence Kathleen Hicks “assumed the functions and duties” just before 5pm, Pentagon spokesman Pat Ryder said in a statement, adding that Austin was still receiving treatment and that the White House and Congress had been informed.
The announcement came weeks after it emerged that Austin, 70, had kept previous hospital stays secret and had not immediately informed US President Joe Biden of his cancer diagnosis, sparking criticism as the United States faces crises in the Middle East and Ukraine.
Austin effectively vanished from the public eye for treatment for prostate cancer in December and again in January after suffering complications from the procedure.
This time, the public was alerted around two hours after he was sent to the hospital on Sunday afternoon.
