Bush to Undergo Colonoscopy, Hand Power to Cheney

Vice President Cheney will assume the presidency on an acting basis Saturday when President Bush undergoes general anesthesia for a routine colon examination, the White House said today.

Bush will transfer powers under the 25th Amendment, which permits the president to voluntarily hand over authority when he is unable to perform his duties. The White House said Cheney will probably be in charge for about 2 1/2 hours while Bush recovers from the effects of the sedative.

This will be the second time Cheney has become acting president under almost identical circumstances. Bush underwent sedation for a colonoscopy on June 29, 2002, and Cheney was the commander in chief for 2 hours 15 minutes. That test found no signs of cancer, and doctors said then that Bush would need another test in five years. A spokesman said Bush has experienced no symptoms.

The White House labored to portray the situation as unremarkable, announcing it at the daily press briefing only after a long report on developments in Iraq and using words such as "routine" and "standard" to describe it.

The president's doctor, Richard J. Tubb, who will supervise the procedure, was not made available to talk about the medical issues. Nor was White House counsel Fred F. Fielding available to talk about the constitutional issues.

Bush will have the procedure performed at Camp David, and Cheney plans to spend his time in power at his home on Maryland's Eastern Shore with his wife, Lynne Cheney.

"I believe he has full capability of responding to anything from the Eastern Shore," White House press secretary Tony Snow said.

The transfer of presidential power in such circumstances is rare and ungoverned by much precedent. The 25th Amendment says a president may transfer authority in writing to the vice president if he concludes "he is unable to discharge the powers and duties of his office." Letters are sent to the speaker of the House and the president pro tempore of the Senate, the next in line to the presidency after the vice president. The president can then reclaim his powers in writing when he thinks it appropriate.

Only twice since the amendment was ratified in 1967 has a president done so, once in 1985 when Ronald Reagan underwent a colonoscopy and Vice President George H.W. Bush briefly took over, and then again in 2002. The process remains so unusual and open to interpretation that some scholars argued Reagan did not actually transfer power because the letter he signed did not specifically cite the 25th Amendment. His White House counsel disagreed. (The counsel at the time? Fred Fielding.)

Through 6 1/2 years in office, Bush has been exceptionally healthy. He turned 61 this month and exercises religiously six days a week. His blood pressure, pulse and cholesterol were all reported better than average in his most recent annual physical, performed last summer.

Doctors found and removed polyps from Bush's colon before he became president but discovered none in 2002.

"Age and history would suggest that there's a reasonable chance that polyps will be noted this time," Snow said. "If so, they'll be removed and evaluated microscopically." Tests on any such tissue removed could take 48 to 72 hours, he noted.

Snow knows a lot about the subject. He had a relapse of colon cancer in March and is undergoing treatment. Shortly after his briefing, he left the White House for his weekly dose of chemotherapy.