Vice President Kamala Harris made history once again by becoming the first woman and Asian American to gain presidential power after President Joe Biden underwent a routine colonoscopy on Friday morning, according to the White House.
Transfer of power: Harris, the first Black and South Asian vice president of the United States, became the commander in chief for nearly an hour and a half.
- White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki said in a statement that Harris took on presidential duties in her West Wing office while Biden, 78, went under anesthesia for the procedure around 9 a.m. local time at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center.
- Biden officially sent letters to Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) the president pro tempore of the Senate, and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi in order to transfer the power at 10:10 a.m.
- “@POTUS spoke with @VP and @WHCOS at approximately 11:35am this morning. @POTUS was in good spirits and at that time resumed his duties. He will remain at Walter Reed as he completes the rest of his routine physical,” Psaki posted on Twitter.
Back to VP: After Harris’ run as acting president for 85 minutes, she was ready to travel from Washington, D.C., to Columbus, Ohio, to promote the administration’s $1.2 trillion bipartisan law that was signed by Biden earlier this week, the New York Post reported.
- “I will note that, you know, the president, when he selected her to be his running mate, obviously he knew he was making history — was making history that was long overdue, in our view,” Psaki said to reporters at Friday’s White House briefing.
- “And part of that was selecting someone who would serve by your side as your partner, but also step in if you were — if there was a reason to, and that includes the application of the 25th Amendment as was done this morning.”
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