Biden transferring presidential power to Vice President while he gets colonoscopy
US President Donald Biden is temporarily transferring his presidential power to Vice President Kamala Harris as he goes under anesthesia for a colonoscopy.
The procedure will be performed on Biden, who was the oldest president in US history at the time he was sworn in, at Walter Reed Medical Center in Maryland on Friday as part of his annual physical examination, White House press secretary Jen Psaki said in a statement.
"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," Psaki said. "The Vice President will work from her office in the West Wing during this time."
She added that the results of the 79-year-old’s physical examination would be released to the public.
Biden has been under attack for his advanced age from Republicans, and it has made the results of his annual physical a point of interest. Biden last released the results of a medical assessment in December 2019, during the presidential campaign.
Former US Ambassador to the United Nations and Republican Governor of South Carolina Nikki Haley has even suggested that aged politicians in the American government should undergo a "cognitive test."
She was asked in an interview about her thoughts on the mental health of the aged US president, who seems to lose touch with reality lately.
"Well what I'll tell you is, rather than making this about a person, we seriously need to have a conversation that if you're gonna have anyone above a certain age in a position of power — whether it's the House, whether it's the Senate, whether it's vice president, whether it's president — you should have some sort of cognitive test," Haley said on November 4.
She compared it to how lawmakers disclose their tax returns.
Haley quoted instances suggesting Biden was not completely aware of everything going on in his administration, such as the fallout with France after his administration had pushed Paris aside and signed a lucrative multi-billion nuclear deal with Australia for submarines.
Earlier this month, Biden was filmed snoozing as delegates spoke at the opening of an international conference in Scotland.
"Sleepy Joe" became a popular social media trend after the US president apparently dozed off at the United Nations COP26 climate conference in Glasgow, Scotland.
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