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Andrew Caballero-Reynolds/AFP/Getty Images
U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin speaks at a press conference at the Pentagon in Washington, DC, on February 1.
CNN
—
U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin has canceled a trip to Brussels for NATO and Ukraine meetings later this week as he remains hospitalized at Walter Reed Medical Center, according to a defense official familiar with the plans.
Austin was taken to the hospital Sunday afternoon with symptoms “suggestive of an emergency bladder issue,” Pentagon spokesman Maj. Gen. Pat Ryder said Sunday. He was then admitted to the hospital’s critical care unit later in the evening for further treatment and close monitoring, the hospital said.
Medical staff said it was unclear how long Austin would remain in the hospital.
Austin was scheduled to lead a meeting of the Ukrainian Defense Contact Group (UDCG) in Brussels, followed by a meeting of NATO defense ministers. Austin attended the UDCG’s last meeting virtually from his home on January 23rd.
On Sunday afternoon, Austin handed over duties to Deputy Secretary of Defense Kathleen Hicks and notified the president, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and Congress, the Pentagon said.
Mr. Austin has come under heavy criticism for not informing government officials, including President Joe Biden, of his previous hospitalization and diagnosis of prostate cancer. Mr. Austin is scheduled to testify before the House Armed Services Committee later this month about his failure to notify authorities.
This story has been interrupted and will be updated.
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