BETHESDA, Md. (AP) 鈥� President Joe Biden will briefly transfer power to Vice President Kamala Harris on Friday when he undergoes a 鈥渞outine colonoscopy" at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center, the White House said.
Biden drove early Friday to the medical center in the Washington suburbs for his first routine physical exam as president. Press secretary Jen Psaki said Biden would be under anesthesia during the procedure and would transfer power to Harris.
鈥淎s was the case when President George W. Bush had the same procedure in 2002 and 2007, and 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," she said. "The Vice President will work from her office in the West Wing during this time.鈥�
Biden, 78, had his last full exam in December 2019, when and 鈥渇it to successfully execute the duties of the Presidency," according to a doctor鈥檚 report at the time. Biden is , and has been high since he declared his candidacy for the White House in 2019.
Dr. Kevin O鈥機onnor, who has been Biden鈥檚 primary care physician since 2009, wrote in a three-page note that the then-presidential candidate was in overall good shape.
In that report, O鈥機onnor said that since 2003, Biden has had episodes of atrial fibrillation, a type of irregular heartbeat that鈥檚 potentially serious but treatable. At the time, O鈥機onnor cited a list of tests that showed Biden鈥檚 heart was functioning normally and his only needed care was a blood thinner to prevent the most worrisome risk, blood clots or stroke.
Biden had a brush with death in 1988, requiring surgery to repair two brain aneurysms, weak bulges in arteries, one of them leaking. Biden has never had a recurrence, his doctor said, citing a test in 2014 that examined his arteries.
Pursuant to to the Constitution, Biden will sign a letter to the president pro tempore of the Senate and the speaker of the House of Representatives saying he is unable to discharge his duties while under anesthesia, making Harris the acting president, and will send them another letter upon the conclusion of the procedure to resume his duties.
Harris, , will be making history during the short time she is serving as acting president. She is scheduled to travel to Ohio later Friday once Biden resumes his duties.
On Friday afternoon, Biden is scheduled to take part in the annual pardoning of the national Thanksgiving turkey.
When he brought O鈥機onnor back to the White House to continue serving as his doctor, and O'Connor was expected to lead a team of experts in conducting Biden's physical exam Friday.
Once emerged in early 2020, Biden鈥檚 team took intense steps to keep the then-candidate and now-president healthy as the virus raged and took a disproportionate toll among older populations. Biden received in December 2020 and just two weeks before taking office. He received , which regulators say provides more enduring protection, in late September.
The White House said Biden would authorize the release of a medical report, as is customary for presidents and presidential candidates. Former President Donald Trump, 75, was sharply criticized for on his health and serving in the White House, including concealing the seriousness of a month before the 2020 presidential election.
Zeke Miller, The Associated Press
