United States Vice President Kamala Harris will become the first woman to hold presidential powers in the history of the country.
White House press secretary Jen Psaki announced on Friday.
President Joe Biden will transfer power to Vice President Kamala Harris during the “brief” time to undergo a medical check-up.
Biden, the oldest person to hold the presidency in US history, went to the Walter Reed Medical Center just outside of Washington early Friday on the eve of his 79th birthday.
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The White House described the appointment as Biden’s “routine annual physical.” It was his first since taking office in January.
The medical procedure will require the US president to be under anaesthesia.
Despite the administration’s stressing that there was nothing unusual in the hospital visit, Biden’s departure by motorcade from the White House early Friday was announced at the last minute.
His public schedule, issued the previous night, listed only the traditional ceremony to “pardon” a turkey ahead of Thanksgiving and departure for a weekend at home in Delaware.
During a colonoscopy examination, Biden will be anaesthetized and as in past practice, the vice president will assume power, which includes control over the US armed forces and the nuclear weapons arsenal.
“President Biden will transfer power to the vice president for the brief period of time when he is under anaesthesia. The vice president will work from her office in the West Wing during this time,” Press Secretary Jen Psaki added.
Harris, 57, is the first woman to hold the vice presidency and made an unsuccessful bid for the Democratic Party nomination in 2020, before being picked as Biden’s running mate. However briefly, her temporary holding of presidential powers will also make history.
Psaki noted that a similar temporary transfer of power, “following the process set out in the Constitution,” had been carried out when president George W. Bush underwent the same procedure in 2002 and 2007.
However, this time, presidential power will be transferred to a female vice president.
In November last year, Harris broke history to become the first Black female South Asian to be elected as vice-president of the United States.
Answering a question in 1989, former US president, Gerald Ford said he didn’t know how a woman can become president except if nominated as vice president by any of the parties and the president dies.
Watch video of Gerald Ford here.
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