Warren G. Harding

Harding, a Republican, won the 1920 presidential election in a landslide against Democrat James M. Cox. His campaign promised a 'return to normalcy' after World War I and the Progressive Era, appealing to voters weary of reform and international engagement.

Harding signed the Budget and Accounting Act, which created the Bureau of the Budget (now the Office of Management and Budget) and the General Accounting Office (now the Government Accountability Office). This established the first formal federal budgeting process.

The Teapot Dome scandal erupted, revealing that Secretary of the Interior Albert Fall had secretly leased naval oil reserves at Teapot Dome, Wyoming, to private oil companies in exchange for bribes. Fall was later convicted, becoming the first cabinet member imprisoned for crimes in office.