FILE - In this Thursday, Feb. 25, 2016 file photo, former President George H. W. Bush, right, and his wife, Barbara, are greeted before a Republican presidential primary debate at The University of Houston in Houston. On Wednesday, Jan. 18, 2017, the former president was admitted to an intensive care unit, and Barbara was hospitalized as a precaution, according to his spokesman. (AP Photo/David J. Phillip)
FILE - In this Thursday, Feb. 25, 2016 file photo, former President George H. W. Bush, right, and his wife, Barbara, are greeted before a Republican presidential primary debate at The University of Houston in Houston. On Wednesday, Jan. 18, 2017, the former president was admitted to an intensive care unit, and Barbara was hospitalized as a precaution, according to his spokesman. (AP Photo/David J. Phillip) Credit: David J. Phillip

Houston — Former President George H.W. Bush was admitted on Wednesday to the intensive care unit of a Houston hospital with pneumonia, and his wife, Barbara, was hospitalized as a precaution after suffering fatigue and coughing, a spokesman said.

The 92-year-old former president, who had been hospitalized since Saturday, underwent a procedure “to protect and clear his airway that required sedation,” family spokesman Jim McGrath said in a statement.

Bush was stable and resting comfortably at Houston Methodist Hospital, where he was to stay for observation, the statement said.

The 41st president was placed in the ICU to address “an acute respiratory problem stemming from pneumonia,” McGrath said. He later told The Associated Press that doctors were happy with how the procedure went. Bush was first admitted to the hospital for shortness of breath.

“I don’t think there’s a whole lot of money to be gained betting against George Bush,” McGrath said. “We’re just kind of in a wait-and-see mode.”

McGrath said Barbara Bush, who is 91, had not been feeling well for a couple of weeks. He described the move as precautionary.