Pentagon quick to notify public of Lloyd Austin’s latest hospitalization after cancer secrecy

Published February 12, 2024 9:46am ET



The Department of Defense notified Congress, the White House, and the public on Sunday that Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin was transported with Walter Reed National Military Medical Center for an “emergent bladder issue” earlier in the day.

This is Austin’s second hospitalization this year after undergoing surgery to treat prostate cancer in late December. His first hospitalization at Walter Reed, which began on Jan. 1 and he was released on Jan. 15, was marked by secrecy. Austin has since apologized for how he handled his cancer diagnosis and subsequent hospitalization.

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