There was some contention about constitutional order of succession, which involved O'Neill, when Reagan was shot in March 1981. Secretary of State Alexander Haig famously said that he was "in control here" in response to a question as to who was in charge (with the president under anesthesia and Vice President George Bush traveling), but it was later pointed out that O'Neill was next in line after Bush. Reagan was only unconscious for a few hours, and no formal invocation of the line of succession took place.