Republican Revolution of 1994

After the failure of the healthcare reform, Clinton's leadership was questioned. Newt Gingrich turned the voters dissatisfaction with Clinton into support for the Republicans. As part of his plan Gingrich drafted the Contract with America, which contained ten items Republicans promised to enact if they won control of congress. Included was congressional term limits, a balanced- budget amendment, tax cuts, tougher crime laws, and welfare reform. In the 1994 Election the Republicans defeated the Democrats and gained control of both houses of congress for the first time since 1954. Clinton and the Republican-controlled congress clashed and they opposed each other's budgets. When congress and Clinton refused to compromise with the budgets, the government shut down multiple times within the next four months.