UPDATE: Presidential powers have been transferred back to Joe Biden after he leaves Walter Reed following a routine medical procedure.
EARLIER REPORT: Joe Biden has temporarily handed over power to Kamala Harris while he goes under anesthesia for a "routine" colonoscopy, the White House announced on Friday morning. The procedure will be conducted at Walter Reed Medical Center.
Joe Biden and Kamala Harris (Photo by Scott Olson/Getty Images)
Harris will work from her office in the West Wing of the White House. The move takes place according to the 25th Amendment, which states, "Whenever the President transmits to the President pro tempore of the Senate and the Speaker of the House of Representatives his written declaration that he is unable to discharge the powers and duties of his office, and until he transmits to them a written declaration to the contrary, such powers and duties shall be discharged by the Vice President as Acting President."
In 2002 and 2007, then-president George W. Bush transferred power to his vice president for similar reasons.
