Bill Clinton served as the 42nd President of the United States from January 20, 1993, to January 20, 2001. His two-term administration oversaw strong economic growth and budget surpluses while also facing major political controversies, including impeachment and acquittal in 1998–1999.
Domestically, Clinton presided over a period of sustained economic expansion, reduced unemployment, and several major policy initiatives—most notably passage of NAFTA, welfare reform in 1996, and balanced budgets that produced federal surpluses in the late 1990s. His administration also advanced legislation on crime, gun control, and family leave while benefiting from the technology-driven boom of the decade.
Clinton’s presidency is also marked by controversy: a personal scandal led to his impeachment by the House in 1998 and acquittal by the Senate in 1999, which shaped public debate about character and accountability. On foreign policy he expanded U.S. engagement, including NATO interventions in Bosnia and Kosovo, leaving a mixed legacy of increased international involvement and contested domestic politics.
Signed NAFTA (1993); Enacted 1996 Welfare Reform (Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Act); Achieved federal budget surpluses in the late 1990s; Led NATO interventions in Bosnia (1995) and Kosovo (1999); Impeached by the House (1998) and acquitted by the Senate (1999); Signed key domestic laws including the Brady Bill and Family and Medical Leave Act
Key highlights and dated events associated with this presidency.
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In the U.S. midterm elections, Democrats picked up a net five seats in the House of Representatives while Republicans retained a narrow majority.
President Clinton signed the DMCA into law, implementing international WIPO copyright treaties and criminalizing circumvention of digital rights management while creating safe‑harbor protections for online service providers.
President Clinton hosted Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and PLO Chairman Yasser Arafat for talks that produced the Wye River Memorandum, outlining phased Israeli withdrawals and security provisions in the West Bank.
President Clinton signed the Internet Tax Freedom Act, establishing a temporary moratorium on new state and local taxes on Internet access and multiple or discriminatory taxes on electronic commerce.
The U.S. House voted to open a formal impeachment inquiry into President Clinton following the release of the Starr Report and related evidence.
On September 23, 1998, the Federal Reserve Bank of New York coordinated an agreement among major financial institutions to provide a private-sector recapitalization of the hedge fund Long-Term Capital Management (LTCM).
Following Hurricane Georges' severe landfall in Puerto Rico, President Clinton declared a major disaster on September 22, activating federal relief and recovery assistance for Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands.
On September 17, 1998, President Bill Clinton delivered a nationally televised statement saying he had an "improper physical relationship" with White House intern Monica Lewinsky and expressing regret for his actions.
House Republican leaders made the Starr Report's contents public, widely disseminating detailed allegations about President Clinton and Monica Lewinsky to the media and the public.
Independent Counsel Kenneth Starr formally transmitted his expanded investigation report and a referral concerning possible grounds for impeachment of President Clinton to Congress.
Independent Counsel Kenneth W. Starr submitted his report on the investigation into President Clinton's relationship with Monica Lewinsky to both houses of Congress.
A U.S. federal grand jury in the Southern District of New York unsealed an indictment charging Osama bin Laden and others in connection with the August 7, 1998 bombings of the U.S. embassies in Nairobi and Dar es Salaam.