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Former President George H.W. Bush could be moved out of intensive care as early as Monday as he and his wife, Barbara, recover in a Houston hospital, a spokesman said Sunday.

George Bush, 92, was admitted to Houston Methodist Hospital on Jan. 14 for shortness of breath and underwent a procedure to treat an acute respiratory problem stemming from pneumonia. Barbara Bush, 91, was admitted later with bronchitis.

Jim McGrath, the family's spokesman, said Sunday that doctors were "encouraged by President Bush's improving health."

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"His vital signs are normal, and it is hoped that he could be moved out of the ICU in the next day or two," McGrath said.

Barbara Bush was cleared to go home on Sunday, but she chose to stay at the hospital overnight "to continue her recovery and to be closer to her husband," McGrath said.

Former President George H.W. Bush and his wife, Barbara, in Kennebunkport, Maine, in June 2012. Charles Krupa / AP

The former president, who has a form of Parkinson's disease, uses a motorized scooter or a wheelchair for mobility. He has suffered from other respiratory difficulties in recent years.

The Bushes earlier apologized to Donald Trump for not being able to attend his inauguration as president on Friday.

"My doctor says if I sit outside in January, it likely will put me six feet under. Same for Barbara. So I guess we're stuck in Texas," the former president wrote in a letter Jan. 10.