George W. Bush Event Timeline

January 20, 2001

George W. Bush (43) Event Timeline 01/20/2001 – 01/20/2009
11/07/2000	George W. Bush wins the 2000 Presidential election.
11/09/2000	Florida Secretary of State Katherine Harris announces recount underway in Florida as required by law when the margin of victory is less than 0.5 percent.
11/09/2000	Controversy begins between Bush and Gore campaigns involving recounting votes and resolving controversies relating to ballots with voting errors.
12/12/2000	Supreme Court halts Florida Recount; declares Bush the winner in 5-4 decision. This is the “safe harbor” date for resolving disputes about electors.
12/18/2000	Electors cast their votes.
2001
01/15/2001	Wikipedia is launched.
01/20/2001	President George W. Bush Inaugural Address.
01/22/2001	Reinstates ban on aid to groups performing or counselling abortion (“Mexico City Policy”).
01/29/2001	Signs Executive Orders relating to “faith-based and community initiatives.”
02/16/2001	Bush meets Mexican President Vicente Fox in Guanajuato.
03/29/2001	Rejects Kyoto Protocol, which is an international treaty to reduce global warming by setting limits on industrial emissions.
04/01/2001	US Surveillance aircraft in collision with Chinese fighters
04/27/2001	Dennis Tito becomes world’s first space tourist.
06/07/2001	Signs $1 Trillion Tax Cut.
08/09/2001	Halts Federal Funding for Embryonic Stem Cell Research.
09/11/2001	9/11 Terrorist Attack, Islamic terrorists hijack four commercial airplanes and crash them into the World Trade Center,The Pentagon, and Pennsylvania countryside.
09/20/2001	Address to Joint Session of Congress on 9/11 Attacks, announces targeting of Osama Bin Laden; announces cabinet-level position on Homeland Security.
10/07/2001	Address to the Nation announcing operation “Enduring Freedom” Begins, starting military action in Afghanistan to combat terrorist activity.
10/17/2001	D.C. Anthrax Scare, where anthrax is mailed to prominent senators and media figures.
11/10/2001	Apple launches the iPod.
11/10/2001	China is admitted into the World Trade Organization .
12/02/2001	Enron Corporation Declares Bankruptcy, the largest company to do so in American history, and Bush administration has ties to executives involved.
12/13/2001	Announces US withdrawal from 1972 Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty.
12/27/2001	Proclamation 7516 extends Normal Trade Status for China with the United States.
2002
01/08/2002	Signs No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB). The Act sought to increase accountability for schools and states by requiring students to take standardized tests in reading and math. Disaggregated test results would be published and proficiency goals set. Stressed ensuring teacher qualifications.
01/29/2002	Annual State of the Union Address. (“Axis of Evil”)
05/16/2002	Press Briefing on the events leading up to 9/11 by National Security Advisor Condoleezza Rice. (“I want to reiterate that during this time, the overwhelming bulk of the evidence was that this was an attack that was likely to take place overseas.”)
05/20/2002	Continues Trade Embargo with Cuba until Free and Fair Elections are Instituted.
05/24/2002	Signs Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty between United States and Russia, with aims to reduce nuclear weapons arsenals in each nation.
06/06/2002	Address to the Nation about the proposed Department of Homeland Security.
06/24/2002	Calls for New Leadership Within the Palestinian Community.
07/09/2002	Remarks on Corporate Responsibility; proposes reforms to “demand integrity without stifling innovation and economic growth.” These include new penalties for corporate fraud.
09/04/2002	Seeks Congressional Support for Military Action against Iraq.
09/12/2002	Address UN Security Council, makes his case to enforce UN resolutions in Iraq.
10/16/2002	Signs Congressional Resolution for the “Authorization for Use of Military Force Against Iraq.” (AUMF)
11/05/2002	Republicans gain seats in midterm elections.
12/20/2002	Iraq Remains in Violation of Security Council Resolution 1441, sparking further tensions between the Hussein regime and the United Nations and the USA.

2003
01/07/2003	In Remarks to Economic Club of Chicago, announces proposed additional large tax cut.
01/28/2003	Annual State of the Union Address.
02/01/2003	Columbia Space Shuttle Explodes in Space, killing all seven crew members.
02/12/2003	Discovers that North Korea Will Soon Pose a Viable Nuclear Capability.
03/17/2003	Address to the Nation on Iraq. “Saddam Hussein and his sons must leave Iraq within 48 hours.”
03/19/2003	Address to the Nation on Iraq. “On my orders, coalition forces have begun striking selected targets of military importance. . . .”
04/10/2003	Videotaped Remarks to the Iraqi People together with British PM Blair, speaking to the Iraqi people of their vision for life after Saddam Hussein.
05/01/2003	Address to the Nation on Iraq From the U.S.S. Lincoln, “Mission accomplished” banner. “Major combat operations in Iraq have ended. In the battle of Iraq, the United States and our allies have prevailed.:
05/22/2003	UN Lifts Sanctions Against Iraq.
05/28/2003	Signs Jobs and Growth Tax Relief Reconciliation Act reducing income taxes.
06/17/2003	Department of Justice guidelines prohibiting racial profiling in Federal law enforcement.
07/09/2003	Senate Intelligence Committee Report on US Pre-war Intelligence escalates concerns about Administration misstatement of evidence about Iraqi weapons of mass destruction prior to the invasion.
07/22/2003	US Forces Successfully Kill Uday and Qusay Hussein, sons of Saddam Hussein.
10/02/2003	Iraq Survey Group “Interim Progress Report .” “We have not yet found stocks of weapons. . .” President Bush commented on the report in his Remarks of 10/03/2003.
11/05/2003	Signs Bill Banning Late-Term Abortion.
12/08/2003	Signs Medicare Reform Act of 2003, which included prescription drug plans in Medicare.
12/13/2003	Saddam Hussein captured in Tikrit, Iraq. Bush Addresses the Nation on the capture on 12/14/2003.
2004
01/20/2004	Annual State of the Union Address.
03/08/2004	Iraqi Governing Council Signs Interim Constitution, providing a framework for a transitional government.
04/28/2004	Remarks after photos of the U.S. abuse of Iraqi prisoners at Abu Ghraib Prison broadcast on CBS.
05/17/2004	Seeks a Constitutional Amendment after Massachusetts Becomes the First State to Offer Marriage Licenses to Same Sex Couples.
06/08/2004	Attorney General John Ashcroft appears before Senate Judiciary Committee to testify about two leaked documents containing legal arguments for circumventing US and international bans on torture in the questioning of terrorist subjects.
06/28/2004	Announces End of Formal Occupation of Iraq.
09/02/2004	Accepts Presidential nomination at Republican Convention
10/29/2004	Osama Bin Laden Issues an Address to America Taking Credit for the 9/11 Attacks.
11/04/2004	George W. Bush Re-elected, defeating John Kerry. Bush wins 50.7% of the popular vote and 53.2% of the electoral vote.
11/08/2004	US Forces Launch Assault on Fallujah Iraq, the largest operation in the region since the invasion in March 2003.
11/15/2004	Secretary of State Colin Powell Resigns, as do three other cabinet secretaries.
11/16/2004	Condoleezza Rice is Nominated as Secretary of State
2005
01/20/2005	Second Inaugural Address.
01/28/2005	Condoleezza Rice sworn in as Secretary of State; First African-American woman to hold the post.
02/02/2005	Annual State of the Union Address.
02/14/2005	Alberto Gonzales sworn in as Attorney General, first Hispanic to serve in that post.
03/21/2005	Signs legislation permitting the parents of Terri Schiavo to challenge, on a special basis, in Federal court medical decisions to withhold care.
03/31/2005	Schiavo Medical Case Ends, Feeding tube is removed from patient Terri Schiavo and she passes away.
06/05/2005	Saddam Hussein to be Tried for War Crimes.
06/10/2005	Meeting with South Korean President Roh Moo-hyun to discuss denuclearization of North Korea.
06/21/2005	Meeting with Premier Van Khai of Vietnam, marking the first visit by Vietnam's head of state since Communist rule.
07/26/2005	Statement on launch of Space Shuttle Discovery.
08/08/2005	Signs Energy Policy Act of 2005; included tax credits for wind and other alternative energy; identified ocean energy as a renewable technology.
08/28/2005	Remarks on Hurricane Katrina, which devastates the southern states.
09/29/2005	Justice John G. Roberts Jr. is sworn in as Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States.
2006
01/24/2006	Democrat Congressional Leaders Call Bush’s NSA-Backed Surveillance Programs “domestic spying” which Bush Denies.
01/31/2006	Annual State of the Union Address.
03/09/2006	Signs reauthorization of USA PATRIOT Act.
03/31/2006	6.1 Magnitude Earthquake in Iran, causes massive damage, kills 66 people.
05/03/2006	Warns Country of Importance of Preparing for Influenza, after South America suffers deadly flu season.
05/04/2006	Zacarias Moussaoui Sentenced to Life in Prison Without Parole for his role in the 9/11 attack.
07/19/2006	Vetoes Stem Cell Research Bill.
10/26/2006	Signs the Secure Fence Act of 2006, placing barriers and fences along the southern border of the United States.
11/07/2006	In midterm elections, Democrats gain control of both House and Senate.
12/30/2006	Saddam Hussein, having been convicted of crimes against humanity, is executed by hanging in Baghdad, Iraq.
2007
01/04/2007	Nancy Pelosi Becomes the First Woman Speaker of the House.
01/11/2007	Announces Sending More Troops into Iraq.
01/23/2007	Annual State of the Union Address.
03/06/2007	Scooter Libby, VP Cheney’s Chief of Staff Convicted of Perjury, Bush later commutes his sentence.
04/16/2007	Virginia Tech shooting--a student kills 32 and then commits suicide.
05/01/2007	Bush vetoes a bill mandating a schedule of troop withdrawal from Iraq.
07/26/2007	Signs the National Security Act of 2007 which allows screening of air and sea cargo and gives more money in antiterrorism grants to states with greatest risks of attacks.
09/17/2007	Alberto Gonzales leaves office following protracted controversy about dismissal of US attorneys.
10/09/2007	Dow Jones Reaches an All-Time High, but will steeply decline in the following months.
11/27/2007	Middle East Peace Conference with Israel and the Palestinian President.
12/19/2007	Signs Energy Independence and Security Act, forcing automobile manufacturers to increase fuel efficiency.
2008
01/18/2008	Proposes an economic growth package.
01/28/2008	Annual State of the Union Address.
02/11/2008	Six Detainees are Charged for 9/11 in Guantanamo Bay.
02/13/2008	Signs Economic Stimulus Act
03/17/2008	Investment bank Bear Stearns is bailed out by the Federal Reserve.
05/21/1008	Vetoes “Food Conservation and Energy Act of 2008,” (“The Farm Bill”) complains that it lacks program reform and fiscal discipline.
05/22/2008	Congress Passes the Farm Bill of 2008 over Veto.
06/03/2008	Democratic Convention nominates Barack Obama for President, the first African-American nominee by a major political party.
09/04/2008	Republican Convention Nominates John McCain for President.
09/07/2008	US Treasury Takeover of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac Corporations to prevent more than half of US mortgages from going under.
09/15/2008	Investment bank Lehman Brothers fails and is not bailed out; Merrill Lynch acquired by Bank of America.
09/16/2008	Federal Reserve takes ownership of American International Group.
10/01/2008	United States and India Agree to a Nuclear Cooperation Deal.
10/03/2008	Signs the Emergency Economic Stabilization Act of 2008, largest bailout in history, attempting to fight one of the worst recessions in American history. This creates the "Trouble Assets Relief Program"--TARP.
11/04/2008	Barack Obama elected President, defeating Senator John McCain with 52.9% of the popular vote and 67.8% of the electoral college vote.
11/25/2008	The Treasury and Federal Reserve Agree to Buy Debt to Provide Another $800 Billion in Lending Programs and to Provide More Small Loans to Consumers.
12/16/2008	Interest Rates are Set at 0%, an all-time low.
12/19/2008	Remarks on Auto Industry Bailout; GM and Chrysler Receive emergency capital infusions through the “Troubled Asset Relief Program” (TARP) to keep them from bankruptcy.

Last edited 01/11/2024.

George W. Bush, George W. Bush Event Timeline Online by Gerhard Peters and John T. Woolley, The American Presidency Project https://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/node/346007

George W. Bush

George W. Bush Event Timeline

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