Cheney to Join Bush on GOP Ticket

July 25 -- Republican presidential candidate George W. Bush this morning asked Dick Cheney to be his running mate and the former defense secretary has accepted, ABCNEWS has learned.

Bush is expected to make a public announcement today at 3 p.m. ET in Austin, Texas.

Cheney, a former congressman and Cabinet secretary, was tapped in April to lead Bush’s vice-presidential selection process, a move that was initially thought to lessen the odds that he would be chosen to fill the slot.

But Cheney and the Bush camp recently took several key steps to clear the way for Cheney to join the governor on the Republican ticket.

Steps to the Ticket

On Thursday, Cheney warned the board of Halliburton Co., a Texas-based engineering and construction firm, that he would need to step down as chief executive officer if tapped to run for vice president. Last month, Cheney sold half of his interest in the company’s stock.

On Friday, Cheney traveled from Texas to Wyoming, where he served as a congressman for 10 years, to personally change his voter registration in order to remove a possible constitutional barrier to a Bush-Cheney ticket.

The Bush camp also took steps to evaluate Cheney’s health, a potential area of concern given that he has suffered three heart attacks and, in 1988, underwent quadruple bypass surgery.

Cheney was given a medical exam last week and Dr. Denton A. Cooley, a prominent Houston cardiologist and a Bush family friend, spoke to Cheney’s physician in Washington, Dr. Jonathan Reiner, and subsequently concluded that Cheney was fit to run and serve.

It was revealed Monday that Bush had selected Cheney to be his running mate. Today at 7:22 a.m. ET, Bush called Cheney in Dallas to formally ask him to join him on the ticket, and Cheney said yes.

Vice-Presidential Credentials

Cheney, 59, served as White House chief of staff under President Ford and secretary of defense under President Bush, the Texas governor’s father.