Kamala Harris heads to Ohio after holding presidential power for 85 minutes
It was fun while it lasted.
Vice President Kamala Harris resumed her regular duties Friday, boarding Air Force Two for a trip to Ohio after becoming the first woman to officially hold presidential power.
President Biden temporarily transferred his powers to his second-in-command while undergoing a colonoscopy during a routine physical at Walter Reed Medical Center outside Washington.
The president was out of commission from 10:10 a.m. to 11:35 a.m. while with his doctors, according to the White House.
Prior to undergoing the procedure, Biden informed House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) and Senate President pro tempore Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) that he would be under sedation and would “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 accordance with the 25th Amendment.
The appointment was not originally listed on Biden’s Friday schedule and was announced less than three hours before the president arrived at the hospital.
During Friday’s White House press briefing, press secretary Jen Psaki had few details about how Harris spent her 85 minutes as acting president, pointing reporters to the vice president’s office for additional information.
“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, “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.”
Harris was scheduled to give remarks in Columbus, Ohio, later Friday as part of the administration’s nationwide push to promote the recently enacted $1.2 trillion bipartisan infrastructure legislation.
