The First 100 Days: Bill Clinton
1993 was a transitional year in Presidential history as it ushered in the start of the nation's first Democratic Presidency in 12 years. William Jefferson Clinton defied the odds and was inaugurated as the 42nd President of the United States on January 20, 1993. He began his presidency in decisive fashion as just two days after taking office, January 22, 1993. Clinton marked the 20th anniversary of the U.S. Supreme Court decision of Roe v. Wade by reversing restrictions on domestic and international family planning programs that had been put into place during the presidency of his two predecessors, Ronald Reagan and George H. W. Bush. When doing so, Clinton said that abortion should be kept "safe, legal, and rare" a slogan that he had first used in December 1991, while campaigning for his party's nomination. During the eight years of the Clinton administration, the abortion rate declined by about 18.4%.
The first few weeks of the administration presented the new president with a number of difficulties. Not the least of these challenges was the problem of finding someone for the important cabinet position of Attorney General. Clinton had promised to assemble an administration that "looked like America". His supporters expected that a woman would be appointed to one of the major cabinet posts, and Clinton decided that he would appoint a female Attorney General. Many women's political action groups were also demanding that he do so.
It was reported that Clinton initially considered nominating the First Lady Hillary Clinton, who had become a prominent attorney in her own right. He was prevented from doing so by anti-nepotism laws stemming from Robert F. Kennedy's service in his brother's administration. Clinton's first choice was corporate lawyer Zoë Baird. Her selection became derailed in a scandal that became known as "Nannygate", in which it was revealed that Baird had hired a Peruvian couple, both illegal immigrants, to work in her home. The idea of the Attorney General having employed illegal immigrants provoked opposition from a large segment of the population.
Baird withdrew her nomination and Clinton's next choice was Kimba Wood. She too was quickly forced to withdraw due to a similar problem of her employing an illegal immigrant. As a result, over a thousand presidential appointments were subjected to heightened scrutiny for household help hiring practices, and caused a significant slowdown in getting new administration positions filled. Finally, Janet Reno, a Florida state's attorney, was nominated for Attorney General a few weeks later, and her nomination was confirmed in the Senate on March 11, 1993.
Clinton attempted to fulfill his campaign promise of allowing openly gay men and lesbians to serve in the armed forces. This attracted considerable criticism. His handling of the issue earned him criticism from both the left. The left thought that he was too tentative in promoting gay rights and disingenuous in making the promise in the first place. The left believed that he was too insensitive to the reality of military life. After much debate, Congress implemented a policy that became known as "Don't ask, don't tell", which provided that gay men and women would be allowed to serve in the military as long as their sexuality was kept secret. Gay rights advocates criticized Clinton for not going far enough and accused him of making his campaign promise simply to get votes and campaign contributions. They said that Clinton should have integrated the military by executive order, using President Harry Truman's desegregation of the armed forces as an example. On January 27, a small delegation of Congress had visited the White House and told Clinton that if he tried forcing a change by executive order, Congress would pass a bill (with a veto-proof majority) re-writing the existing policy into law. Clinton's defenders argued this could make it harder to integrate the military in the future.
Less than a month after taking office, on February 5, 1993, Clinton signed the Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993. This legislation required large employers to allow employees to take unpaid leave for pregnancy or a serious medical condition. This bill had bipartisan support, and was also very popular with the public.
On February 15, 1993, Clinton made his first address to the nation. In his speech he announced his plans to raise taxes to cap the budget deficit. Two days later, on February 17th, in a nationally televised address to a joint session of Congress, Clinton unveiled his economic plan. The plan focused on reducing the deficit rather than on cutting taxes for the middle class, something which had been a part of his campaign agenda. Clinton's advisers, convinced him to raise taxes, based on the theory that a smaller federal budget deficit would reduce bond interest rates. One of Clinton's advisors who most strongly recommended this course of action was Robert Rubin, his future Treasury Secretary. Later that year, in August 1993, Clinton signed the Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1993, which passed Congress without a single Republican vote. It mandated deficit reduction and raised taxes on the wealthiest 1.2% of taxpayers, while cutting taxes on 15 million low-income families and making tax cuts available to 90% of small businesses. Clinton's economic plan also called for a major expansion of the existing Earned Income Tax Credit, aimed at working-class families just above the poverty line. The intention was for it to make sense for these persons to work rather than seek welfare.
During the first 100 days, controversy erupted over problems within the White House Travel Office. Subsequently, on May 19, 1993, Clinton fired seven employees of this office. The White House responded to the controversy by claiming that the firings were done in response to financial improprieties that had been revealed by an FBI investigation. Critics made accusations claiming that the firings had been done to allow friends of the Clintons to take over the travel business and the involvement of the FBI was unwarranted.
Because of Nannygate, the issue of gays in the military, and the dropping of a promised middle-class tax cut, Clinton experienced the highest disapproval ratings at the start of any presidency since such polling began. His "presidential honeymoon" period was a very brief one.
Clinton supported the North American Free Trade Agreement, an accord made with Canada and Mexico that was negotiated by President George H. W. Bush. It was supported by many members of the Democratic Leadership Council. Despite opposition from anti-trade Republicans, protectionist Democrats, and supporters of Ross Perot, the bill passed both houses of Congress. Clinton also signed the Brady Bill, which imposed a five-day waiting period on handgun purchases.
Perhaps the most prominent item on Clinton's first-term legislative agenda was passage of a health care reform plan. A task force headed by First Lady Hillary Clinton proposed the plan, which aimed to achieve universal coverage via a national healthcare plan. Though initially well received in political circles, it ultimately faced overwhelming opposition from well-organized and well-funded groups such as the American Medical Association, and the health insurance industry. Despite his party holding a majority in the House and Senate, the effort to create a national healthcare system ultimately died under heavy public pressure. It was the first major legislative defeat of Clinton's administration.
The first few weeks of the administration presented the new president with a number of difficulties. Not the least of these challenges was the problem of finding someone for the important cabinet position of Attorney General. Clinton had promised to assemble an administration that "looked like America". His supporters expected that a woman would be appointed to one of the major cabinet posts, and Clinton decided that he would appoint a female Attorney General. Many women's political action groups were also demanding that he do so.
It was reported that Clinton initially considered nominating the First Lady Hillary Clinton, who had become a prominent attorney in her own right. He was prevented from doing so by anti-nepotism laws stemming from Robert F. Kennedy's service in his brother's administration. Clinton's first choice was corporate lawyer Zoë Baird. Her selection became derailed in a scandal that became known as "Nannygate", in which it was revealed that Baird had hired a Peruvian couple, both illegal immigrants, to work in her home. The idea of the Attorney General having employed illegal immigrants provoked opposition from a large segment of the population.
Baird withdrew her nomination and Clinton's next choice was Kimba Wood. She too was quickly forced to withdraw due to a similar problem of her employing an illegal immigrant. As a result, over a thousand presidential appointments were subjected to heightened scrutiny for household help hiring practices, and caused a significant slowdown in getting new administration positions filled. Finally, Janet Reno, a Florida state's attorney, was nominated for Attorney General a few weeks later, and her nomination was confirmed in the Senate on March 11, 1993.
Clinton attempted to fulfill his campaign promise of allowing openly gay men and lesbians to serve in the armed forces. This attracted considerable criticism. His handling of the issue earned him criticism from both the left. The left thought that he was too tentative in promoting gay rights and disingenuous in making the promise in the first place. The left believed that he was too insensitive to the reality of military life. After much debate, Congress implemented a policy that became known as "Don't ask, don't tell", which provided that gay men and women would be allowed to serve in the military as long as their sexuality was kept secret. Gay rights advocates criticized Clinton for not going far enough and accused him of making his campaign promise simply to get votes and campaign contributions. They said that Clinton should have integrated the military by executive order, using President Harry Truman's desegregation of the armed forces as an example. On January 27, a small delegation of Congress had visited the White House and told Clinton that if he tried forcing a change by executive order, Congress would pass a bill (with a veto-proof majority) re-writing the existing policy into law. Clinton's defenders argued this could make it harder to integrate the military in the future.
Less than a month after taking office, on February 5, 1993, Clinton signed the Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993. This legislation required large employers to allow employees to take unpaid leave for pregnancy or a serious medical condition. This bill had bipartisan support, and was also very popular with the public.
On February 15, 1993, Clinton made his first address to the nation. In his speech he announced his plans to raise taxes to cap the budget deficit. Two days later, on February 17th, in a nationally televised address to a joint session of Congress, Clinton unveiled his economic plan. The plan focused on reducing the deficit rather than on cutting taxes for the middle class, something which had been a part of his campaign agenda. Clinton's advisers, convinced him to raise taxes, based on the theory that a smaller federal budget deficit would reduce bond interest rates. One of Clinton's advisors who most strongly recommended this course of action was Robert Rubin, his future Treasury Secretary. Later that year, in August 1993, Clinton signed the Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1993, which passed Congress without a single Republican vote. It mandated deficit reduction and raised taxes on the wealthiest 1.2% of taxpayers, while cutting taxes on 15 million low-income families and making tax cuts available to 90% of small businesses. Clinton's economic plan also called for a major expansion of the existing Earned Income Tax Credit, aimed at working-class families just above the poverty line. The intention was for it to make sense for these persons to work rather than seek welfare.
During the first 100 days, controversy erupted over problems within the White House Travel Office. Subsequently, on May 19, 1993, Clinton fired seven employees of this office. The White House responded to the controversy by claiming that the firings were done in response to financial improprieties that had been revealed by an FBI investigation. Critics made accusations claiming that the firings had been done to allow friends of the Clintons to take over the travel business and the involvement of the FBI was unwarranted.
Because of Nannygate, the issue of gays in the military, and the dropping of a promised middle-class tax cut, Clinton experienced the highest disapproval ratings at the start of any presidency since such polling began. His "presidential honeymoon" period was a very brief one.
Clinton supported the North American Free Trade Agreement, an accord made with Canada and Mexico that was negotiated by President George H. W. Bush. It was supported by many members of the Democratic Leadership Council. Despite opposition from anti-trade Republicans, protectionist Democrats, and supporters of Ross Perot, the bill passed both houses of Congress. Clinton also signed the Brady Bill, which imposed a five-day waiting period on handgun purchases.
Perhaps the most prominent item on Clinton's first-term legislative agenda was passage of a health care reform plan. A task force headed by First Lady Hillary Clinton proposed the plan, which aimed to achieve universal coverage via a national healthcare plan. Though initially well received in political circles, it ultimately faced overwhelming opposition from well-organized and well-funded groups such as the American Medical Association, and the health insurance industry. Despite his party holding a majority in the House and Senate, the effort to create a national healthcare system ultimately died under heavy public pressure. It was the first major legislative defeat of Clinton's administration.