Condition of Pentagon Chief: Details

The U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin has been released from intensive care but remains in poor health. This was stated by Pentagon press secretary Patrick Ryder in a statement published by the military department's press service on Monday, as reported by TASS.

According to Ryder, the head of the defense department continues to receive treatment at the Walter Reed National Military Medical Center, located outside of Washington, D.C. (Maryland). “He is no longer in the intensive care unit and is recovering in a more isolated section of the hospital. He remains in poor health, but the prognosis is good,” the Pentagon representative said.

He noted that on January 8, Austin spoke by phone with his deputy Kathleen Hicks, as well as with Jake Sullivan, the presidential assistant for national security, and received the latest information from General Michael Kurilla, the head of U.S. Central Command. “We do not yet have a precise date for his discharge, but we will release new information every day in the meantime,” Ryder added.

According to John Kirby, the strategic communications coordinator for the National Security Council, President Joe Biden does not plan to dismiss Austin; however, the Washington administration will conduct a review because the Pentagon did not promptly notify his superiors about his hospitalization. Members of the U.S. Congress had previously demanded that Austin explain why the Pentagon had not informed the public and authorities about the incident. Politico reported that the Department of Defense kept the secretary's whereabouts secret from the White House for three days. The Pentagon chief was hospitalized on January 1 due to complications from a recent medical procedure.