International

Bush resumes duties after tests

By Sridhar Krishnaswami

New York june 29. The U.S. President, George W Bush, has formally resumed his powers and duties after briefly transferring them to his Vice-President, Dick Cheney, while going through colonoscopy.

The White House has said that the tests revealed no polyps or other abnormalities. Mr. Bush transferred his powers to Mr. Cheney for a little over two hours this morning. By 9:24 am, the President resumed his powers, said the White House spokesman, Ari Fleischer. "The President says he feels great'' and expected to resume normal activities at Camp David later in the afternoon, he added.

On Friday, Mr. Bush said he would be transfer powers for sometime to his Vice-President while under sedation for a routine colon check. Mr. Bush had the procedure done at Camp David by a team of military doctors and under the supervision of his White House physician. Mr. Cheney was the "Acting President'' while the President underwent colonoscopy. The White House Counsel said that Mr. Cheney would assume Presidential duties of office "for a matter of hours''. Mr. Cheney was at the White House on Saturday morning as a part of the standard routine that included a briefing. His spokesperson earlier on Friday remarked, "He realises that this is just part of the job and that it is routine.''

Mr. Bush surprised reporters yesterday with his decision prior to boarding his helicopter to the retreat in Catoctin Mountains. He said he decided to tranfer powers to Mr. Cheney to be "super cautious'' as the nation is engaged in a war on terrorism. Under Section 3 of the 25th Amendment, the President will have to notify leaders of the House of Representatives and the Senate that he is unable to discharge his duties; and after recovering from sedation a notification would again have to be sent to Congressional leaders.

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