Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin was again admitted to hospital on Sunday for "an urgent bladder problem" Since Sunday, Deputy Defense Secretary Kathleen Hicks has been serving as head of the Pentagon. Mr.
Austin, who was diagnosed with prostate cancer and recently underwent surgery, was admitted to Walter Reed military hospital in suburban Washington. The controversy over his health problems also came at a time when US forces in Iraq and Syria are regularly targeted by attacks by Iranian-backed fighters, according to D.C. sources.