Presidency of Ben Walker

The presidency of Ben Walker began at noon EST on January 20, 2001, when Ben Walker became the 43rd President of the United States upon his inauguration. Walker, a Democrat, was the Governor of California at the time of his victory in the 2000 presidential election over Republican governor Thomas Bing of Ohio. His running mate, Florida governor James Cox, took office as vice president on the same day; Cox is the first African American vice president in U.S. history. The presidency continued following Walker's victory in the 2004 presidential election and the start of his second term at noon EST on January 20, 2005.

Political scholars say that Walker's progressive ideology will enable his administration to produce progressive policies that would likely be altered and/or failed by Republican members of Congress and with Republican members of Congress producing conservative policies that would likely be negotiated and/or vetoed by the administration should the Republican Party win a majority in Congress at any time throughout Walker's presidency.

Despite Walker's progressive ideology, many Republicans were nominated to and served in his Cabinet. This was notable as it is highly unusual for presidents to fill their Cabinet with members of the opposing party, especially considering Walker's stance as a progressive and the stances of many of his Cabinet members as conservatives.

On November 13, 2002, both Walker and Cox left the Democratic Party and became independents. This is the first time a president and vice president have changed their political affiliations while in office.

2000 presidential election
See also: 2000 United States presidential election

Walker declared his candidacy in the 2000 presidential election on November 7, 1999, exactly one year before the election. He faced no opposition in the Democratic primaries and chose Florida governor James Cox as his running mate. The Walker/Cox ticket defeated the Republican ticket of former Ohio governor Thomas Bing and Iowa governor Gavin Wallow with 55% of the vote and 296 electoral votes; despite Walker's victory, the Bing campaign never conceded the election.

In addition to Walker's victory, the Democratic Party won an outright majority in the House of Representatives, winning 5 out of the 7 seats in the House. The Senate was split evenly with the Democratic Party winning 2 seats and the Republican Party winning 2 seats; it was only after the presidential election was called for Walker that the Democratic Party won the Senate majority due to Vice President James Cox's constitutional tiebreaking powers and affiliation with the Democratic Party.

2002 midterm elections
The 2002 midterm elections occurred on November 5, 2002. Administrative inactivity motivated Elizabeth MaCord and Clay Jones to run the elections in place of the administrators. The Supreme Court nullified the elections after their conclusion, but despite this, the administrators became active and declared the election valid.

In the midterm elections, the Democratic Party maintained their control of the House and Senate. The elections also motivated many, including Walker, to launch presidential campaigns for the upcoming 2004 election.

2004 presidential election
See also: 2004 United States presidential election

Walker declared his candidacy in the 2004 presidential election on September 10, 2002, initially running for a second term as a Democrat. He was opposed in the Democratic primaries by Representative Andrew Walker (no relation), and after major losses in the first round of primaries, Walker announced that he was leaving the Democratic Party and continuing his re-election campaign as an independent. On November 13, 2002, the same day Walker left the Democratic Party, Walker announced that Vice President James Cox, who had also left the Democratic Party to become an independent, would be joining his independent ticket.

Walker initially faced Republican congressman Gavin Wallow and Democratic congressman Andrew Walker before the latter Walker withdrew from the race due to low polling numbers. After Andrew Walker withdrew from the race, the independent Walker/Cox ticket was endorsed by the Democratic Party.

The Walker/Cox ticket defeated Wallow and his running mate, Louisiana senator Clay Jones, with 69.2% of the vote and 372 electoral votes. In addition, the Democratic Party maintained its majorities in the House and Senate, the latter without Cox's tie-breaking vote, unlike the 2000 election.

Cabinet nominations
Walker announced his first Cabinet nominees immediately following his inaugural address. Many of his significant Cabinet nominations were notable because they consisted of conservative Republican nominees despite Walker being a progressive Democrat.

Judicial nominations
Tasked with building the Supreme Court after taking office, Walker nominated James Sarsooza for chief justice on his first day as president; Sarsooza was confirmed shortly after. He later nominated Thomas Bing and John Jefferson, who would both go on to be confirmed shortly after being nominated.

Following Bing's resignation from the Supreme Court to take a seat in Congress, Walker nominated attorney general Robert Kennedy to the vacant seat; Kennedy went on to be confirmed and was Walker's first liberal nominee to the Supreme Court.

Policies and legislation
Following the attempted coup by Elizabeth MaCord, Walker introduced his Forward America agenda, a series of progressive executive orders and legislation that he promised during the 2000 election. Though the agenda was introduced halfway into his first term, Walker says that all executive orders and legislation introduced by his administration before the agenda's introduction were part of the agenda.

Executive orders
Executive Order #001 - Establishing the President’s Commission on Simulation Growth (signed on 1/20/2001) Executive Order #002 - Establishing the President’s Commission on Technological Advancement (signed on 1/20/2001) Executive Order #003 - Ordering the Department of Justice to Declassify Marijuana and Review Marijuana-Related Federal Convictions (signed on 1/20/2001) Executive Order #004 - Establishing the National Office of Disability Advancement (signed on 1/20/2001) Executive Order #005 - Establishing a Federal Jobs Guarantee (signed on 1/20/2001) Executive Order #006 - Ordering the Department of Education to Cancel All Outstanding Student Loan Debt (signed on 10/11/2002) Executive Order #007 - Declaring Healthcare a Human Right (signed on 3/18/2003) Executive Order #008 - Ordering the Internal Revenue Service to Review All Non-Profit Hospitals for Charitability (signed on 3/18/2003) Executive Order #009 - Enacting a Moratorium on the Federal Death Penalty (signed on 6/21/2003)

Legislation
Department of Economic Affairs Act (signed on 2/16/2001) Modern Voting Act (signed on 3/17/2001) Raise the Wage Act (signed on 3/18/2003) Fairness in Taxation Act (signed on 3/18/2003) Educate America Act (signed on 3/18/2003) Universal Care Act (signed on 3/18/2003)