On February 11, local time, the U.S. Department of Defense saidAfter Secretary of Defense Austin was taken to the hospital for a "bladder emergency" to be accepted**, his duties have been handed over to Deputy Secretary of Defense Kathleen Hicks. This time, the White House, Congress, the deputy secretary of defense, and the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff have all been notified of Austin's hospitalization. 
Austin (data map) US Department of Defense spokesman Patrick Ryder said in a statement earlier on the 11th that Austin still retains his functions and responsibilities as Secretary of Defense for the time being, and carries the unclassified and classified communication systems he needs to perform his duties to the hospital. However, in a statement issued that evening, Ryder said that Austin had handed over functions and responsibilities to Deputy Secretary of Defense Kathleen Hicks, and that both the White House and the U.S. Congress had been notified. 
Catherine Hicks (data map) As previously reported,Austin, 70, underwent surgery for prostate cancer** at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center on December 22, 2023, and was discharged the next day. On January 1, 2024, he was readmitted to the hospital due to postoperative complications. On 2 January, he was transferred to the intensive care unit for monitoring and**. On the same day, some senior Department of Defense staff learned that Austin was hospitalized, but it was not until January 4 that the White House and Biden learned about it. Not only that, the news of Austin's hospitalization was only announced on January 5, and the news that he was diagnosed with cancer and underwent surgery was only announced on January 9. Because the situation in the Middle East is tense and the conflict between Russia and Ukraine is protracted, the entire "off-duty" incident is not only chaotic in the transfer of power, delayed in the process, but also full of various opacities, which has shaken the US political circles and attracted criticism for a whileFormer Republican member Donald Trump and others demanded Austin. On January 12, local time, Biden of the United States said in response to Austin's concealment of hospitalization and inability to perform his dutiesThe latter's failure to inform him of the truth in time was a "mistake in judgment," but he still said he had "confidence" in Austin. Nearly a month later, Austin ended telecommuting and returned to the Pentagon to resume work. On February 1, local time, he held his first briefing after being discharged from the hospital, apologizing for his secret hospitalization. "My first instinct was to keep it a secret. I'm a privacy-conscious person and don't like people to burden me with my problems......But what I've learned from this experience is that Americans have a right to know if their leaders are healthy, because that can affect their ability to do their jobs. Austin said there was no power gap while he was in the hospital, that there was no risk to the Department of Defense's command and control, and that the Pentagon had put in place new procedures to ensure that there would be no notification lapses in the future. **Zhonghong Network Comprehensive.