SALT LAKE CITY — Undergoing what his office called a "routine medical procedure" that required sedation, Governor Spencer Cox temporarily transferred power to Lt. Governor Deidre Henderson.
The transfer of power was put into effect shortly before 7:30 Friday morning and Cox resumed the duties and powers of governor at around 9 a.m.
Cox said later on Twitter that he had a colonoscopy, and urged other Utahns who are 45 years and older to schedule theirs.
"I'm happy to report a clean bill of health!" he said in a tweet.
Lt. Gov. Henderson assumed the duties and powers of governor while he was incapacitated.
She made light of it in a post on Twitter.
Oddly enough, being governor feels pretty much the same as being lieutenant governor. pic.twitter.com/JCR1Wazo84
— Deidre Henderson (@DeidreHenderson) April 21, 2023
Under Utah law, Gov. Cox also notified Utah Supreme Court Chief Justice Matthew Durrant of the temporary transfer of power. The justice was also notified when he resumed gubenatorial powers.
"Doctors expect that to be an hour or two," Gov. Cox's office said in a statement.
As Lt. Governor in 2018, Cox had fun when he was "governor for an hour" when his predecessor, Governor Gary Herbert, underwent a surgical procedure and he was appointed acting governor. Cox made joke declarations like declaring then-Utah Jazz player Joe Ingles as his second-in-command and taking back a corner of Wyoming to "Make Utah Rectangular Again."
