WASHINGTON, February 13 (Reuters) – US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin was released on Tuesday from the military hospital where he was admitted on Sunday, the Pentagon said.
Lloyd Austin, 70, had already been hospitalized in December and January for surgery and treatment for prostate cancer.
The head of the Pentagon was criticized by President Joe Biden and by elected representatives of Congress, both Democrats and Republicans, for not having revealed his illness.
Lloyd Austin was hospitalized Sunday in Washington with symptoms suggesting an emerging bladder problem.
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The defense secretary was released from the hospital Tuesday afternoon and “has resumed all his functions and duties,” the Pentagon said in a statement.
On doctors’ advice, he will work from home before returning to the Pentagon later this week. Lloyd Austin’s doctors said in a statement that the defense secretary is expected to make a full recovery.
Due to this new hospitalization, Lloyd Austin was forced to cancel a trip to NATO headquarters, where he was to participate in a meeting on Ukraine. This meeting will ultimately be held online.
“The (Defense) Secretary still intends to participate in the virtual meeting of the Ukraine Defense Contact Group tomorrow, including a keynote address,” said spokesperson Sabrina Singh. from the Pentagon, during a press briefing.
(Reporting Phil Stewart and Idrees Ali; French version Camille Raynaud)
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