US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin was sent to the hospital for bladder issues; deputy

US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin was sent to the hospital for bladder issues; deputy

Austin's security detail drove him to Walter Reed National Military Medical Center at around 2:20 p.m., according to a statement released by the Pentagon.

US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin was hospitalized once again on Sunday after symptoms suggesting a "emerging bladder problem," according to the Pentagon. Austin was first diagnosed with prostate cancer in December.

Austin's security detail drove him to Walter Reed National Military Medical Center at around 2:20 p.m., according to a statement released by the Pentagon.

Although Austin was supposed to retain "the functions and duties of his office," he gave those powers to Deputy Secretary of Defense Kathleen Hicks at around 5 p.m. on Sunday. As of Sunday night, Maj. Gen. Pat Ryder, the press secretary for the Pentagon, said that he was still hospitalized.

Congress, the White House, as well as the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff were all notified.

According to Ryder, Austin had brought the unclassified and secret communications equipment he required for work with him when he went to the hospital.

Tuesday saw Austin leave for Brussels to convene a conference of the Ukraine Contact Group, an organization he founded to provide military assistance to Kiev in the event of a Russian invasion in 2022. Following that, Austin was expected to go to a normal NATO defense ministers' meeting.

Whether or if this hospitalization would alter their plans was unclear at first.

Austin received a December diagnosis of prostate cancer, and on December 22, he had a prostatectomy as treatment.

He had difficulties throughout the course of the next week, and on January 1st, in excruciating agony, he was transported by ambulance to Walter Reed Medical Center and admitted to the critical care unit. Austin stayed until January 15 at Walter Reed. After that, he kept getting better and worked from home. On January 29, he went back to the Pentagon.

As per his physicians' previous statement, he has a "excellent" prognosis for the malignancy and won't need any more treatment.

After being hospitalized, Austin returned to Walter Reed for a follow-up, but this is the first time he has visited without an appointment because of lingering after effects from his cancer treatment.

Austin kept his cancer diagnosis and first hospitalization a secret from Congress, President Joe Biden, and his deputy defense secretary for weeks. Both an internal Pentagon inquiry and an Inspector General probe have focused on the concealment. He has already said that he never gave his employees instructions to conceal the fact that he was hospitalized.