President Biden underwent a colonoscopy as part of a “routine physical” at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center on Friday and temporarily transferred power to Vice President Harris while under anesthesia, White House press secretary Jen Psaki said.
Psaki tweeted that Biden resumed his duties around 11:35 a.m., was in good spirits and spoke to both Harris and White House Chief of Staff Ron Klain.
“He will remain at Walter Reed as he completes the rest of his routine physical,” Psaki said.
Vice President Kamala Harris, shown Tuesday in Washington, was briefly acting president on Friday while President Biden underwent a routine colonoscopy. Patrick Semansky/Associated Press
In a statement earlier Friday, Psaki said the White House would publicly release a written summary of the president’s physical later in the day.
White House officials have said for months that Biden, who turns 79 on Saturday and is the nation’s oldest president, would get an annual physical and be transparent about the results.
In her statement, Psaki noted that President George W. Bush had also briefly transferred power to his vice president under similar circumstances in 2002 and 2007.
Psaki said that Harris worked out of her office in the West Wing during the period she had the powers of the presidency.
Biden’s motorcade arrived at the hospital shortly before 9 a.m. Friday.
Biden released a three-page summary of his medical history in December 2019, during his presidential campaign. Written by his doctor, it declared him “healthy” and “vigorous.”
It indicated he was treated for an irregular heartbeat, gastroesophageal reflux and seasonal allergies. It also showed he had a history of atrial fibrillation, which was discovered during a routine check before he had his gallbladder removed in 2003.
Biden has never required any medication or electrical treatments, but he does take a blood thinner, according to the summary. He also uses over-the-counter esomeprazole for gastroesophageal reflux and uses Allegra and Dymista to treat his sinus symptoms.
The summary also noted that Biden had no permanent damage from the aneurysms he suffered in 1988.
Biden’s health, however, has garnered outsize attention because of his age and criticism from Republicans who have seized on what they claim are his deteriorating mental and physical abilities. During the 2020 campaign, President Donald Trump repeatedly raised questions about Biden’s fitness for office, nicknaming him “Sleepy Joe.” And Trump’s base quickly took up the political attack, with some making veiled comments about Biden’s mental acumen and others offering more overt ones.
After Biden’s first news conference in March, for instance, Rep. Lauren Boebert, R-Colo., tweeted, “A President with cognitive decline is a national security risk.”
Biden has only one other event on his public schedule Friday: In the afternoon, he plans to conduct the time-honored White House tradition of a turkey pardon before heading to Wilmington, Del., for the weekend.
Matt Viser and Ashley Parker contributed to this report.
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