US Defence Secretary Austin released from hospital

WASHINGTON - United States Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin was released from a military hospital on Feb 13 and will attend a Ukraine-related virtual meeting the next day, the Pentagon said, as the Pentagon chief

struggles in the wake of prostate cancer surgery

.

It was the second time in 2024 that Mr Austin, 70, was hospitalised – this time to address a bladder issue – since surgery in December to treat prostate cancer.

He

triggered a political uproar

in January 2024 after failing to disclose his surgery to the White House as well as a subsequent hospitalisation in January to deal with its complications. Even President Joe Biden did not know Mr Austin was in the hospital until days later.

After taking questions from reporters last week to discuss his recovery, Mr Austin returned to Walter Reed National Medical Centre on Feb 11 after indications of an emergent bladder issue and was placed in critical care.

Mr Austin was released from the hospital on the afternoon of Feb 13 and “resumed his full functions and duties”, the Pentagon said in a statement. On advice of doctors, he will work from home before returning to the Pentagon later this week, it said. He is expected to make a full recovery, his doctors said in the statement.

The latest hospitalisation forced Mr Austin to cancel a planned trip to Nato headquarters this week for defence talks, as well as to host an in-person Ukraine-related meeting on Feb 14. Those Ukraine talks are instead being organised virtually.

“The Secretary still intends to participate in the virtual Ukraine Defence Contact Group tomorrow. This includes delivering opening remarks,” Pentagon spokesperson Sabrina Singh told a news briefing.

Both Ukraine and Nato are becoming hot-button political issues ahead of November presidential elections in the US. Over the weekend, former Republican president Donald Trump called into question willingness to help defend members of the Western defence alliance if they failed to spend enough on defence.

Mr Biden, who is seeking re-election in a possible rematch against Trump, blasted Trump’s remarks on Feb 13 and also called on the top Republican in the House of Representatives to allow a vote on a Senate-passed US$95.34 billion (S$128 billion) military aid package for Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan.

Amid warnings from the House that it will focus instead on US border security, Mr Biden said failing to approve Ukraine war funding would amount to support for Russian President Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine. REUTERS