Washington:

U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin was hospitalized again on Sunday, this time “due to symptoms suggesting an emergency bladder problem,” a Pentagon spokesman said, after controversial weeks in which he was hospitalized under confidentiality.

Austin effectively disappeared from public view in late December and early January after developing complications from treatment for prostate cancer on Dec. 22, initially hiding his diagnosis and treatment from President Joe Biden and other members of the administration.

This time, the public was alerted about two hours after Austin was taken to the hospital on Sunday afternoon, with Defense Department press secretary Pat Ryder saying in a statement that military, White House and congressional officials had been notified.

Austin “was transported by his security personnel to Walter Reed National Military Medical Center to be checked for symptoms of emergency bladder problems,” Ryder said.

“The Under Secretary of Defense and the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff have been notified. Additionally, the White House and Congress have been notified.”

Ryder said Austin will retain “the functions and responsibilities of his office” while hospitalized.

Austin apologized earlier this month after facing harsh political criticism for keeping his previous hospital stay secret.

“I should have told the president about my cancer diagnosis,” he told reporters on February 1.

At the time, he said he was still recovering from leg pain and using a golf cart for transportation inside the Pentagon.

The undisclosed absence and current hospitalization come as the United States faces escalating crises in the Middle East, with U.S. troops in Iraq and Syria facing near-daily retaliatory attacks by Iran-backed militants in recognition of Washington’s staunch support for Israel.

The top U.S. defense official is also a key figure in the Biden administration’s attempts to maintain support for Ukraine’s fight against Russia’s invasion as Republican members of Congress refuse to authorize new funding for Kyiv’s military aid.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)