President Joe Biden will transfer power briefly to Vice President Kamala Harris on Friday while he is under anesthesia for a routine colonoscopy, making her the first woman to hold presidential power in U.S. history.
Harris is the first woman to serve as vice president of the United States; no woman has ever been president in the country’s nearly 250-year history.
“Following the process set out in the Constitution, President Biden will transfer power to the Vice President for the brief period of time when he is under anesthesia,” White House spokesperson Jen Psaki said in a statement.
“The Vice President will work from her office in the West Wing during this time,” Psaki said.
Biden arrived at Walter Reed just before 9 a.m. (1400 GMT) on Friday; Harris is expected to depart for Ohio, where she’s promoting the infrastructure bill, in the early afternoon.
Presidential power has been transferred to the vice president before, when President George W. Bush had colonoscopies in 2002 and 2007.
Comments are closed.