INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin was hospitalized in Washington on Sunday for treatment of &symptoms suggesting an emergent bladder issue&,
Reuters quoted 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, read the report.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
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, Reuters reported.The post US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin back in
hospital, transfers duties first appeared on Ariana News.
