Vice President Kamla Harris is now the first woman with presidential power while Biden underwent anesthesia for routine colonoscopy at the Walter Reed military hospital outside Washington.
President Joe Biden briefly transferred power to Vice President Harris Friday on as he underwent a colonoscopy, making her the first woman to hold the presidential reins in U.S. history.
Harris is the first woman to serve as vice president of the United States and for ty record no woman has ever been president in the country’s nearly 250-year history.
According to the White House, the routine lasted for one hour and 25 minutes and to officially transfer the presidential powers to Harris, Biden sent a letter to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Democratic Sen. Patrick Leahy of Vermont, the president pro tempore of the Senate.
The letter reads: “Today I will undergo a routine medical procedure requiring sedation. In view of present circumstances, I have determined to transfer temporarily the powers and duties of the office of President of the United States to the Vice President during the brief period of the procedure and recovery.”
In order to transfer the powers back to Biden, a separate letter was sent after the procedure.
“In accordance with the provisions of section 3 of the Twenty-Fifth Amendment to the United States Constitution, I hereby transmit to you my written declaration that I am able to discharge the powers and duties of the Office of the President of the United States and that I am resuming those powers and duties,” the letter, which was sent to both Pelosi and Leahy, reads.