Defense secretary out of the hospital after latest stay

Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin has been discharged from a Maryland hospital after he underwent treatment for a bladder issue, which required him to transfer authorities to the deputy secretary of Defense.

Austin left Walter Reed National Military Medical Center around 3:30 p.m. Tuesday, a statement from the Pentagon said.

Austin is recovering well and resumed his full duties as head of the Defense Department upon being discharged, the Pentagon added. The White House, Congress, the Joint Chiefs of Staff and Deputy Secretary of Defense Kathleen Hicks were all notified.

Austin is planning to work from home before he returns to the Pentagon later this week, but he will miss Thursday’s in-person gathering of NATO defense ministers in Brussels, Belgium.

Austin will virtually attend a Ukraine Defense Contact Group meeting on Wednesday.

Austin, who has prostate cancer, was hospitalized Sunday afternoon with a bladder issue, and he transferred authorities to Hicks that evening.

He underwent non-surgical procedures under general anesthesia and the issue was corrected, according to a statement from his doctors.

The bladder issue was related to a late December surgery Austin underwent. The secretary was diagnosed with prostate cancer in early December and was hospitalized in early January in the intensive care unit due to a urinary tract infection.

The Pentagon has come under scrutiny for keeping the December cancer diagnosis secret, and the January hospitalization under wraps for days.

Austin’s staff failed to properly notify key officials, including President Biden and Hicks, for days after the January 1 hospitalization, and Biden only learned of the cancer diagnosis after the scandal.

Austin is set to testify on Feb. 29 before Congress on the issue.

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