The Presidency of Garrett Walker began on January 20, 2013, when he became the 45th President of the United States and ended in 2014 when he resigned due to an inevitable impeachment.
Background
The Democratic Walker/Matthews ticket was elected to the White House with approximately 70 million votes from across the United States. During the campaign, Walker had promised House Majority Whip Frank Underwood his nomination as Secretary of State, a promise that the President-elect broke when he actually nominated Senator Michael Kern to the position.
In his inaugural address, Walker cited education as a major aim of his administration, promising that a bill to reform national education would be introduced to the House of Representatives in the first 100 days of his presidency.
One of the first blows to the administration was the claim that Kern had written an editorial while working at his university paper that criticized the Israeli occupation of Palestine, something that was in contradiction to the administration's Middle East policy. Criticism from the Jordanian Ambassador as well as several prominent activists in the U.S. led the President to withdraw his nomination, which he later transferred to Senator Catherine Durant.
Key Legislation
- 'Education Reform & Achievement Act' (ERAA) - A bill instigating widespread reforms of the U.S. education system. After the first draft of the bill was leaked on the day of President Walker's inauguration, the bill was put directly under Congressman Underwood's supervision. Once a draft was produced, Underwood began negotiations with teachers' unions to ensure their support of the bill. Initially, the unions were willing to negotiate but, due to disagreements over clauses on performance standards and collective bargaining, they eventually began massive strike action, the latest of its kind in U.S. history. After several weeks of the strike, just when the government was due to buckling under pressure, an attack on Congressman Underwood's home and the death of a child who would normally have been in school coincided and the unions' chief lobbyist ended the strike. The bill later passed through Congress and was signed into law by the President at a public ceremony.
- Delaware River Watershed Act (DRWA) - A bill introduced in the House by the DNC's Pennsylvanian gubernatorial candidate Congressman Peter Russo which was supported by Vice President Matthews. The bill was designed to create jobs in the preservation of the Delaware River after the loss of several thousand jobs in the closure of a federal shipyard. The bill was defeated by two votes (216 for - 218 against) in the House and was a catalyst in the breakdown of Russo's campaign and led to his eventual presumed suicide.
- 'Entitlement Reform Act' (Exact Title Unknown) - A bill that (would have) raised the Social Security retirement age from 62 years old to 64 for early retirement and from 67 to 68 for full retirement. the bill was proposed by Frank Underwood to avoid a spending freeze that would have been imposed by the conservative Tea Party. Republican and Tea Party leaders in the U.S. Senate initially agreed to vote for the bill but suddenly turned against it. Frank Underwood used his role as President of the Senate to force the Senate majority (Republican) leader to allow a final vote on passage. The bill went to the U.S. House for their approval, but its final fate was not established on screen.
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| Preceded by | President of the United States January 20, 2013–October 28, 2014 | Succeeded by Frank Underwood |
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