Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin spent four days in intensive care

Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin spent four days in intensive care: report – USA TODAY

WASHINGTON — Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin spent four days in the intensive care unit since Jan. 1, NBC News reported.

Austin, 70, was admitted to Walter Reed National Military Medical Center on New Year's Day after complications arose during a planned medical procedure, according to a brief statement from the Pentagon late Friday. He was expected to resume his duties there.

Austin remained hospitalized Saturday afternoon and is “recovering well,” Air Force Maj. Gen. Pat Ryder said in an email. Austin resumed full work Friday evening. Ryder declined to comment on Austin's condition and the NBC report that he was in the intensive care unit.

US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin has been hospitalized since January 1, the Pentagon said

The Pentagon's delay in acknowledging that Austin was hospitalized with a serious illness represents an unusual break with the tradition of informing the news media about the health of senior government officials. The Pentagon had been quick to issue statements about the condition of senior officials, including Austin, during the COVID-19 pandemic.

NBC News quoted two administration officials as saying Austin had been unable to fulfill his duties since New Year's Day. That would have left his duties to Deputy Defense Secretary Kathleen Hicks, who a senior Defense Department official who was not authorized to speak publicly told USA TODAY was on leave.

According to NBC, Hicks was in Puerto Rico conducting routine business from there.

The Defense Department is dealing with crises in the Middle East and the ongoing war in Ukraine.

On Thursday, the Pentagon ordered a drone strike on a militant in Baghdad, killing Mushtaq Jawad Kazim al-Jawari, also known as Abu-Taqwa. Abu-Taqwa was actively involved in planning and carrying out attacks on American personnel, Ryder told reporters.