Vice President Kamala Harris became the first woman to get presidential powers for a total of one hour and 25 minutes while President Joe Biden was under anesthetic, the White House said on Friday.
The White House press office said the official letters to Congress declaring the temporary transfer of power of the country from Joe Biden to Kamala Harris were sent at 10:10 am on Friday.
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The White House in a statement said: “The president resumed his duties at 11:35 am (1635 GMT).”
Biden was undergoing his annual physical at the Walter Reed military hospital outside of Washington.
“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 anaesthesia,” White House spokesperson Jen Psaki said in the statement.
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“The Vice President will work from her office in the West Wing during this time,” the statement said.
Presidential power was transferred to the vice president earlier when former President George W. Bush had colonoscopies in 2002 and 2007.
Biden turns 79 on Saturday. He is the oldest person to take office as US president.
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Kamala Harris is the daughter of immigrants from Jamaica and India.
Harris made history on Wednesday when she was sworn in as the US Vice President, becoming the first woman, the first Black American and the first Asian American to hold the second-highest US office.