The White House said Friday that Joe Biden had resumed his duties as U.S. president following a physical earlier in the day that required him to transfer the power of the presidency to the vice president.

In a statement, the White House said as part of the routine physical, the president underwent a colonoscopy that required him to be unconscious for a brief time. Under the Constitution, that required him to formally transfer his powers to Vice President Kamala Harris.

At a news briefing later Friday, White House press secretary Jen Psaki said the president called Harris around 11:35 a.m. Washington time to let her know he was conscious, in good spirits and ready to resume his duties.

Psaki said medical experts were preparing a comprehensive written summary of the president’s health based on the physical examination, which would be released to the media later Friday.

The physical was the first of Biden’s presidency and was conducted at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center, in Bethesda, Maryland, just north of Washington.
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