US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin is still in the hospital; there is no specific date for his discharge yet. RIA Novosti reports this with reference to Pentagon press secretary Patrick Ryder .
Austin remains hospitalized at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center but is recovering and in good spirits, Ryder said.
At the same time, the Pentagon press service emphasized that at the moment there is no specific date for the Secretary of Defense’s discharge from the hospital, but promised to provide information about Austin’s health condition .
Ryder confirmed information about Austin’s January 6 telephone conversation with US President Joe Biden , without, however, providing any details of this conversation. The press secretary also noted that the head of the Pentagon maintained contacts with his deputy Kathleen Hicks and the chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff, General Charles Brown Jr.
Earlier, US Secretary of State Blinken said that he was not aware of the hospitalization of Pentagon Chief Lloyd Austin.
Prior to this, Republican Senator from Mississippi Roger Wicker said that the Pentagon deliberately hid information about the health of the head of the US defense department Lloyd Austin, such a policy is unacceptable.