Kathleen Hicks will serve as US Secretary of Defense while she is hospitalized, the department said.
Hospitalized on Sunday, February 11, 70-year-old US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin handed over the responsibilities of his office to Deputy Pentagon Chief Kathleen Hicks. This was announced by Pentagon press secretary Major General Pat Ryder, Reuters reports.
Austin was taken to Walter Reed National Military Medical Center on Sunday for treatment of “symptoms consistent with a bladder emergency.”
Note that it was previously reported that Austin retained the duties and responsibilities of the head of his office. At the same time, the Pentagon said that the deputy secretary “stands ready to assume the duties and responsibilities of the Secretary of Defense, if necessary.”
“Secretary Austin arrived at the hospital armed with the non-covert and classified communications systems necessary to perform his duties,” Ryder said in a statement hours ago.
Note that this is not the first time that Kathleen Hicks has received powers from the head of the Pentagon due to Austin’s health problems. Therefore, in early January, he also received the right to act on behalf of his boss when the minister was hospitalized on New Year’s Eve.
It was previously reported that Austin should personally chair a meeting of the contact group in the Ramstein format, which will take place on February 14 in Brussels.
It can be remembered that 70-year-old Lloyd Austin was hospitalized on January 1 after he felt severe pain. The Pentagon later announced that the defense secretary was being treated for prostate cancer that had been diagnosed at an early stage.
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Source: korrespondent
I am David Wyatt, a professional writer and journalist for Buna Times. I specialize in the world section of news coverage, where I bring to light stories and issues that affect us globally. As a graduate of Journalism, I have always had the passion to spread knowledge through writing.