Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin provides testimony April 30, 2024, at a House Armed Services Committee hearing at the Rayburn House Office Building in Washington, D.C. (Chad J. McNeeley/DoD)
WASHINGTON — Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin underwent a medical procedure Friday evening at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center for a bladder issue that first arose during his treatment for prostate cancer, the Pentagon said.
“The secretary has determined he will be temporarily unable to perform his functions and duties during the procedure, so Deputy Secretary of Defense Kathleen Hicks will assume the functions and duties of the secretary of defense and serve as the acting secretary of defense,” according to a Friday statement attributed to Air Force Maj. Gen. Pat Ryder, the top Pentagon spokesman. “White House and congressional notifications have occurred.”
Austin resumed duty later Friday, according to the Associated Press, and transferred authority to Hicks for about 2½ hours during the procedure.
Austin was in Annapolis, Md., on Friday morning where he gave the commencement address at the U.S. Naval Academy graduation.
During a regular health screening in early December, Austin’s cancer was detected. He was admitted to Walter Reed in Bethesda, Md., about three weeks later for a prostatectomy, which involves surgery to remove part of the prostate gland. His doctors called it “a minimally invasive surgical procedure,” though Austin was under a general anesthesia during the procedure.
On Jan. 1, Austin returned to Walter Reed after experiencing pain in his abdomen, hip and leg, his doctors said. He was later found to have a urinary tract infection, and Austin spent days in the intensive care unit.
He was gone from the Pentagon for about a month before returning at the end of January.
During Austin’s medical treatments at the time, no one at the Defense Department notified the White House, Hicks, Congress or the public for several days. Ryder has previously listed some factors that he said contributed to the delay in communication, such as Austin’s chief of staff being sick with the flu and the lack of information about the Austin’s condition.
The secretary was back at Walter Reed in February and admitted to a critical unit where he underwent non-surgical procedures to address a bladder problem.
The procedure on Friday was elective and minimally invasive, and “not related to his cancer diagnosis and has had no effect on his excellent cancer prognosis,” according to the Pentagon statement.
