There was some contention about constitutional order of succession , which involved O'Neill , when Reagan was shot in March 1981 . Then-Secretary of State Alexander Haig famously said 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 under for a few hours , and no formal invocation of the line of succession took place
Reagan was shot
Attempted assassination of Ronald Reagan
Tip O'Neill