US President George W Bush transferred his leadership powers to Vice President Dick Cheney for more than two hours today while he went under sedation for a routine colon screening.
The test revealed no polyps or other abnormalities, White House spokesman Ari Fleischer said in a statement after Bush became just the second president to invoke the Constitution's succession-of-powers clause.
"The president says he feels great and will resume his normal routine at Camp David," Fleischer said after the 20-minute procedure conducted by a team of military doctors at the presidential retreat in Maryland's Catoctin Mountains.
Bush temporarily transferred the powers of the presidency with a signed letter to the leaders of the House and Senate. Twenty minutes later, after anaesthesia was administered, the procedure was completed. Fleischer said "the president awoke" two minutes later _ at 7:31 am.
Bush resumed powers two hours and 15 minutes after Cheney became acting president.
The president said on Friday that while the procedure was routine, the times were not. He cited the war on terrorism as the reason to invoke the 25th Amendment of the Constitution for a standard medical test. AP