(The Post Millennial) – While President Joe Biden undergoes a colonoscopy procedure on Friday, he will temporarily transfer power to Vice President Kamala Harris.
According to The Hill, Biden will be administered anesthesia during his treatment, which will be done at Walter Reed Medical Center as part of his annual physical ahead of his birthday on Saturday.
“As 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,” Press Secretary Jen Psaki said in a statement to The Hill.
“The Vice President will work from her office in the West Wing during this time.”
Psaki added that the White House will release a summary of the results of his physical later on Friday.
She mentioned that the transfer of power while under anesthesia is a commonplace, occurring during the George W. Bush administration when Vice President Dick Cheney held presidential power during Bush’s colonoscopy procedures.
Biden will turn 79 on Saturday, and was the oldest president at the time he was sworn in. His age has been a point of contention from Republicans, with a recent Fox News poll finding that a majority of Americans, 53 percent, think his age is interfering with his job.
Psaki mentioned that the transfer of power while under anesthesia is a commonplace, occurring during the George W. Bush administration when Vice President Dick Cheney held presidential power during Bush’s colonoscopy procedures.
That transfer of power did not reportedly occur in the Trump administration though, when former President Trump underwent a colonoscopy; he reportedly maintained presidential powers due to foregoing anesthesia.
“In 2019, the Trump White House handled the same procedure very differently, according to former White House press secretary Stephanie Grisham,” Business Insider reported, “In her recent memoir, Grisham wrote that when Trump had to go in for a colonoscopy, he kept it secret from the public and reportedly refused anesthesia so he wouldn’t have to transfer power to former Vice President Mike Pence.”
Harris’ brief tango with presidential power comes as her poll numbers hit a dismal low, and reports have come out about the Vice President being sidelines, and a rift growing between her and the president.
Harris’ approval rate tumbled to a low of 28 percent earlier this month in a USA TODAY/Suffolk University poll of registered voters.
“Many in the vice president’s circle fume that she’s not being adequately prepared or positioned, and instead is being sidelined. The vice president herself has told several confidants she feels constrained in what she’s able to do politically. And those around her remain wary of even hinting at future political ambitions, with Biden’s team highly attuned to signs of disloyalty, particularly from the vice president,” wrote CNN.
thepostmillennial.com/biden-temporarily-transfers-power-to-kamala-during-colonoscopy