Lloyd Austin, who has had a number of controversial hospital admissions kept secret, was admitted to hospital again on Sunday for "an urgent bladder problem", before delegating his duties to his deputy, Ednews reports referring to Le Figaro.

Since Sunday, Deputy Defence Secretary Kathleen Hicks has taken over as head of the Pentagon, a department spokesman, Pat Ryder, said in a statement.

A few hours earlier, however, the Pentagon had indicated that Mr Austin had "gone to the hospital with the classified and unclassified communications systems necessary" to carry out his duties.

Lloyd Austin, who was diagnosed with prostate cancer and recently underwent surgery, was admitted again to Walter Reed Army Hospital in the Washington suburbs for "an urgent bladder problem", announced Pat Ryder, adding that the minister was still receiving treatment and that the White House and Congress had been informed.

At a press conference on 1 February, the 70-year-old Defence Secretary apologised for keeping his cancer a secret, an affair that caused an outcry in the country.