UPDATED 1:31 P.M. 2/12/24
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin has canceled a trip to Brussels where he was to take part in meetings with other NATO defense ministers, a U.S. official said on Monday, after the Pentagon chief was admitted to a critical care unit and had to transfer duties to his deputy.
Austin, 70, was taken to Walter Reed Military Medical Center on Sunday for “symptoms suggesting an emergent bladder issue”, the Pentagon said. Austin had failed to disclose a prostate cancer surgery in December and a subsequent hospitalization in January to deal with its complications.
Austin was set to depart for the meeting of NATO defense ministers in Brussels taking place on Thursday, and a separate meeting with allies on Wednesday on how to continue supporting Ukraine in countering Russia’s invasion.
The official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the meeting on Ukraine’s defense needs, known as the Ukraine contact group, would be held virtually.
It was unclear how long Austin would remain in the hospital, but he has transferred his duties to Deputy Secretary of Defense Kathleen Hicks.
White House national security spokesman John Kirby said on Monday that President Joe Biden has no concerns about whether Austin can serve after his latest hospitalization.
Austin’s secrecy during his hospitalizations in December and January raised a political uproar. Republicans accused him of dereliction of duty. Biden, a Democrat, has said he has confidence in Austin despite what the president agreed was a lapse in judgment.
Earlier this month, Austin apologized for failing to tell Biden and senior staff about his cancer diagnosis ahead of time, adding that the health scare was a “gut punch” that had shaken him.
The most recent hospitalization was publicly announced soon after he was taken there by his security detail.
Austin is scheduled to testify before Congress on Feb. 29 about the secrecy surrounding his initial hospitalization.
His trip would have come at a critical time in Europe.
A narrowly divided U.S. Senate moved closer to passing a $95.34 billion aid package for Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan on Sunday, but it would face an uncertain future in the House of Representatives.
The legislation includes $61 billion for Ukraine, which is viewed as crucial by Kyiv as it grinds toward the second anniversary of full-scale Russia’s invasion, with front lines in the east and south largely static for many months.
Former President Donald Trump, who is seeking a return to power in the November election, raised a storm of criticism from the White House and top Western officials over the weekend for suggesting he would not defend NATO allies who failed to spend enough on defense and would even encourage Russia to attack them.
(Reporting by Idrees Ali and Phil Stewart; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama, Jonathan Oatis, Mark Heinrich and Deepa Babington)
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(Reuters) -U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin was hospitalized in Washington on Sunday for treatment of “symptoms suggesting an emergent bladder issue”, a Pentagon spokesperson said.
Austin, 70, later transferred the duties of his office to Deputy Secretary of Defense Kathleen Hicks, Pentagon Press Secretary Major General Pat Ryder said in a statement.
Both Republican and Democratic lawmakers criticized Austin last month for failing to disclose a cancer diagnosis and subsequent hospitalizations in December and January, including to President Joe Biden. Some prominent Republicans, including former President Donald Trump, called for Austin to be removed from his job.
The incident was an embarrassment for Biden, and Austin apologized during a televised news briefing. He is scheduled to testify before Congress on Feb. 29 about the situation.
Biden, a Democrat, has said he has confidence in Austin despite what the president agreed was a lapse in judgment.
With its announcement of the secretary’s trip to the hospital and the quick decision to transfer his duties to a deputy, the Pentagon appeared determined to avoid a repeat of last month’s political uproar.
Austin, a retired four-star general who led forces in Iraq and is America’s first Black defense secretary, was still in hospital last month as U.S. forces launched a retaliatory strike against an Iranian-backed militia leader in Baghdad.
There are now three different investigations into Austin’s behavior, including one by the office of the Pentagon’s Inspector General, a watchdog agency that tracks military waste, fraud and abuse. The Republican chair of the House Armed Services Committee, Mike Rogers, has called Austin to testify.
Austin is scheduled to travel to Brussels for a Wednesday meeting of the Ukraine Defense Contact Group. It was not clear if his hospitalization would affect those travel plans.
(Reporting by Dan Whitcomb in Long Beach, California; Editing by Don Durfee and Lisa Shumaker)
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