Kamala Harris becomes first woman to get US presidential powers – Know Key Details

US Vice-President Kamala Harris on November 19, 2021, became the first female acting President of the United States for one hour and 25 minutes when US President Joe Biden temporarily transferred power to Harris while he went under anesthesia for a routine colonoscopy. With this development, 57-years-old Kamala Harris is now the first woman ever who held presidential powers in the 250-years-old history of the US. Kamala Harris is the first woman, first African-American and first Asian-American, first Indian-American who holds the second-most powerful position in the US. Harris was elected US Vice-President on November 7, 2020, after Joe Biden was declared the President of the United States in the US Presidential Elections 2020.

Also read: Kamala Harris becomes first female, Black and Asian-American Vice President-elect of US

How did Kamala Harris become the first woman with presidential powers?

US President Joe Biden, 79-years-old, on November 19, 2021, underwent his first routine annual physical checkup at Walter Reed Medical Center since taking the office. Following this, it is a protocol for a Vice-President to assume Presidential powers while the President undergoes a medical procedure that requires sedation or anesthesia.

What is the procedure to transfer Presidential Powers to Vice-President in the US?

Section 3 of the 25th Amendment to the US Constitution says the President can send a letter to the Speaker of the House of Representatives and the president pro tempore of the Senate declaring they are "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."

As per Section 3 of the 25^th Amendment to the US Constitution, US President Joe Biden wrote a letter to the House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Democratic Senator Patrick Leahy of Vermont (who is the president pro tempore of the Senate) for the official transfer of the Presidential Powers to US Vice-President Kamala Harris before he underwent the routine checkup.

The 25^th Amendment of the US Constitution comprises the procedure through which a President or Vice-President of the US can be replaced in the event of death, resignation, removal or incapacitation. The 25^th Amendment was enacted following the death of former US President John F Kennedy who was assassinated.

How did US President Joe Biden get back his Presidential Powers?

After the completion of the routine checkup, US President Joe Biden wrote a separate letter to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Democratic Senator Patrick Leahy of Vermont in accordance with Section 3 of the 25^th Amendment to transfer the Presidential Powers back to him. US President Biden has been declared fit to successfully execute his duties of the President, wrote the President’s medical examiner Kevin O’Connor.

Also read: Joe Biden inaugurated as 46th US President, Kamala Harris sworn-in as first female US Vice President

Past instances of transfer of Presidential Powers in the US

In the past, US presidents have transferred Presidential Powers while they underwent routine medical checkups which includes a colonoscopy that may require sedation or anesthesia. Former US President George W Bush had undergone the routine colonoscopy twice (2002 and 2007) during which he transferred his Presidential Powers to then Vice-President Dick Cheney for a couple of hours.

Former US President Donald Trump has been an exception who did not undergo sedation or anesthesia during his routine colonoscopy in 2019 and hence did not transfer his Presidential Powers to then Vice-President Mike Pence.