US vice president Kamala Harris delivers opening remarks at the Paris Peace Forum in Paris, France, November 11, 2021. – Sarahbeth Maney/Pool via Reuters
BETHESDA (Maryland), Nov 19 — President Joe Biden will transfer power to Vice President Kamala Harris today while he is under anaesthesia for a routine colonoscopy he will undergo as part of his annual physical, White House press secretary Jen Psaki said in a statement.
“The Vice President will work from her office in the West Wing during this time,” Psaki said.
Presidential power has been transferred to the vice president before, when President George W. Bush had colonoscopies in 2002 and 2007, and the transfer adheres to the process laid out in the Constitution, Psaki said.
Biden, who turns 79 tomorrow, is the oldest person to take office as president in US history. Although speculation has persisted about whether he will run for re-election in 2024, he has said he expects to seek a second term alongside Harris. — Reuters