Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin is transferring his role to Deputy Secretary of Defense Kathleen Hicks today as he prepares to undergo elective surgery.

Pentagon Press Secretary Maj. Gen. Pat Ryder said in a statement that Austin will undergo a “minimally invasive follow-up non-surgical procedure” that is related to his previous bladder issue.

The procedure will take place this evening at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center.

“The Secretary has determined he will be temporarily unable to perform his functions and duties during the procedure, so Deputy Secretary of Defense Kathleen Hicks will assume the functions and duties of the Secretary of Defense and serve as the Acting Secretary of Defense,” Ryder said.

Austin was released from Walter Reed National Military Medical Center in February after receiving treatment for a bladder issue that also prompted him to transfer his duties to his deputy.

Austin, 70, faced blowback after the revelation that the secretary had been hospitalized on January 1 for complications stemming from a prostate cancer procedure and delegated some of his duties to a deputy without informing top brass in the Biden administration and Congress.

Some critics, including GOP lawmakers and former President Donald Trump, called for Austin’s ouster as more details emerged, including that Austin kept his cancer diagnosis under wraps until the story broke. Multiple inquiries ensued, and the White House released new guidelines for Cabinet secretaries to enhance transparency rules when authority is delegated to a subordinate.

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The Department of Defense said Austin resumed his duties from home after being released from the hospital on January 15, and the secretary returned to work at the Pentagon on January 29. Austin testified before a House committee about “his failure to disclose his hospitalization” on February 29.

During a press conference, Austin expressed remorse for how his cancer diagnosis and hospitalization were handled.

“We did not handle this right, and I did not handle this right,” Austin said. “I should’ve told the president about my cancer diagnosis. I should have also told my team and the American public. And I take full responsibility. I apologize to my teammates and to the American people.”

Daniel Chaitin contributed to this report.

A Republican senator’s opinion column about keeping biological males out of women’s sports was removed from USA Today’s network of newspapers because of his “loaded language.”

Sen. John Kennedy (R-LA) learned that a column he wrote about protecting women’s sports had been removed from several USA Today Network newspapers because of “inflammatory” language out of the paper’s editorial standards, Fox News reported Friday. Kennedy told the outlet that he was not aware that the column had been removed until he was informed of broken links to the article.

Kennedy told Fox that the “USA TODAY Network apparently does not like the way I express myself.”

“They think they are the speech police. Drunk on certainty and virtue, they think they are our moral teacher. This attitude is why so many Americans have lost confidence in the media. The media is not going to win that trust back until they return to neutrality instead of advocacy,” he added.

The article, titled “Is transgender inclusion more important than women’s sports?” had been published on May 11 by several Louisiana-based papers owned by Gannett, the parent company of USA Today.

“Men and women don’t compete for the same reasons,” the Republican senator said in his column. “Yet transgender activists want athletic institutions to ignore these obvious physical differences so transgender athletes can feel included, even if it hurts biological girls in the process.”

Gannett Opinion Editor and Vice President of Standards and Ethics Michael McCarter said that Kennedy’s column did not meet the company’s “ethical standard” and that he had been given a chance to “revise his language.”

“We recognize the importance of sharing varying perspectives and the vital role we play convening conversations,” McCarter said. “Sen. John Kennedy’s submitted opinion column did not meet our ethical guidelines, which state we will treat people with respect. After further review, our editorial team removed the column from our website. Sen. Kennedy has been given the opportunity to revise his language – not his viewpoint – to adhere with our standards.”

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According to emails with the executive editor of the Shreveport Times, a USA Today Network newspaper, Kennedy’s use of the terms “biological male,” and “biological female,” were “loaded terms” outside of the outlet’s editorial standards. The outlet also took issue with Kennedy saying that men competing against women in sports was similar to NBA star Zion Williamson playing against middle school boys.