New details of the Pentagon chief's hospitalisation appeared in the media. In particular, it became known that Lloyd Austin spent four days in the intensive care unit.
Lloyd Austin spent four days in intensive care
The Pentagon did not inform senior White House National Security Council officials of Austin's hospitalisation until Thursday, three days after he arrived at Walter Reed Medical Center, according to media reports.
U.S. President Joe Biden spoke to Austin on the phone Saturday night. As an unnamed administration representative said, this was Biden's first conversation with the head of the Pentagon after his hospitalisation.
It was a warm conversation. The president wished him a speedy recovery and said that he was looking forward to the minister's return to the Pentagon, the TV channel's interlocutor said.
According to the source, no word is yet on when Austin will be released from the hospital. What exactly caused the hospitalisation is also not reported.
Pentagon spokesman Pat Ryder told NBC News that Austin "returned to his duties" Friday night. He remained in the hospital on Saturday.
Pentagon officials declined to comment on Austin's condition. The department also does not disclose details about the procedure and its time, nor does it say whether Austin was taken to the hospital by ambulance.
Austin's deputy, Kathleen Hicks, served as head of the Pentagon, the source added.
She "maintained constant contact with employees of the Ministry of Defense, monitored the day-to-day activities of the Ministry of Defense and dealt with some routine matters."
Hospitalisation of Lloyd Austin
On January 5, Pentagon spokesman General Patrick Ryder said that Lloyd Austin was hospitalised at the Walter Reed National Military Medical Center on January 1 due to medical complications.
The Pentagon Correspondents' Association criticised the agency's decision to report the chief's medical complications after the fact, saying the public "has a right to know when members of the U.S. government are hospitalised, under anaesthesia, or when their duties are delegated as a result of any medical procedure."
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