Editing Newt Gingrich (section)

== Speaker of the House ==
{{Main|Contract with America}}

[[File:SpeakerGingrich.jpg|thumb|Official portrait of Speaker Gingrich]]

The House fulfilled Gingrich's promise to bring all ten of the Contract's issues to a vote within the first 100 days of the session. President Clinton called it the "Contract on America".<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.asne.org/kiosk/archive/convention/2000/clinton.htm |title=ASNE—Luncheon address by President Bill Clinton |publisher=Asne.org |date=April 13, 2000 |access-date=May 12, 2011 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110725022028/http://www.asne.org/kiosk/archive/convention/2000/clinton.htm |archive-date=July 25, 2011}}</ref>

Legislation proposed by the [[104th United States Congress]] included term limits for Congressional Representatives, [[tax cuts]], welfare reform, and a [[balanced budget amendment]], as well as independent [[auditing]] of the finances of the House of Representatives and elimination of non-essential services such as the House barbershop and shoe-shine concessions. Following Gingrich's first two years as House Speaker, the Republican majority was re-elected in the 1996 election, the first time Republicans had done so in 68 years and the first time in 80 years that they won a House election simultaneous to a Democratic president being re-elected.{{efn|While the Republican party won the most seats in 1916, adjacent to the re-election of Wilson, Democratic Speaker [[Champ Clark]] managed to retain his position due to an alliance with Progressive and Socialist representatives.}}<ref>{{cite news |title=I've always supported an 'All the Above' energy policy |first=Newt |last=Gingrich |url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB10001424052748703445904576117922236920088 |newspaper=[[The Wall Street Journal]] |date=February 3, 2011 |access-date=February 8, 2011 |archive-date=October 17, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151017013059/http://www.wsj.com/articles/SB10001424052748703445904576117922236920088 |url-status=live }}</ref>

As Speaker, Gingrich sought to increasingly tie Christian conservatism to the Republican Party. According to a 2018 study, Christian conservatism had become firmly ingrained in the Republican Party's policy platforms by 2000.<ref name=":0">{{Cite book |url=https://www.press.uchicago.edu/ucp/books/book/chicago/U/bo27527354.html |title=Uncivil Agreement |last=Mason |first=Lililana |publisher=University of Chicago Press |year=2018 |access-date=October 6, 2018 |archive-date=October 18, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181018014705/https://www.press.uchicago.edu/ucp/books/book/chicago/U/bo27527354.html |url-status=live }}</ref> Yale University congressional scholar David Mayhew describes Gingrich as profoundly influential, saying "In Gingrich, we have as good a case as we are likely to see of a member of Congress operating in the public sphere with consequence."<ref>{{cite book |url=https://yalebooks.yale.edu/book/9780300080490/americas-congress |title=America's Congress |last=Mayhew |first=David |date=2000 |publisher=Yale University Press |page=ix |access-date=October 6, 2018 |archive-date=April 1, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190401011651/https://yalebooks.yale.edu/book/9780300080490/americas-congress |url-status=live }}</ref>

In 1997 Speaker Gingrich visited [[Taiwan]] as well as [[Beijing]] in mainland China.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.wsj.com/livecoverage/nancy-pelosi-taiwan-visit-china-us-tensions/card/china-tolerated-a-visit-to-taiwan-25-years-ago-it-now-sees-that-as-a-mistake--VNK7ekOOP0Coch9JrB03|title=China Tolerated a Visit to Taiwan 25 Years Ago. It Now Sees That as a Mistake|newspaper=[[The Wall Street Journal]]|last=Fan|first=Wenxin|accessdate=August 2, 2022|date=August 1, 2022}}</ref>

=== Role in political polarization ===
A number of scholars have credited Gingrich with playing a key role in undermining democratic norms in the United States, and hastening political polarization and partisan prejudice.<ref name=":0" /><ref name=":1" /><ref name=":2" /><ref>{{cite book |url=https://www.basicbooks.com/titles/thomas-e-mann/its-even-worse-than-it-looks/9780465096206/ |title=It's Even Worse Than It Looks |last1=Mann |first1=Thomas |last2=Ornstein |first2=Norman |publisher=Basic Books |year=2016 |isbn=9780465096206 |access-date=October 6, 2018 |archive-date=October 6, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181006235446/https://www.basicbooks.com/titles/thomas-e-mann/its-even-worse-than-it-looks/9780465096206/ |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name=":3b">{{cite book |url=https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/562246/how-democracies-die-by-steven-levitsky-and-daniel-ziblatt/9781524762933/ |title=How Democracies Die |first1=Steven |last1=Levitsky |first2=Daniel |last2=Ziblatt |publisher=Penguin / RandomHouse |access-date=October 6, 2018 |archive-date=December 11, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181211150321/https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/562246/how-democracies-die-by-steven-levitsky-and-daniel-ziblatt/9781524762933/ |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name=":9">{{cite book |url=http://www.simonandschuster.com/books/American-Amnesia/Jacob-S-Hacker/9781451667837 |title=American Amnesia |last1=Hacker |first1=Jacob |last2=Pierson |first2=Paul |date=February 14, 2017 |publisher=Simon and Schuster |isbn=9781451667837 |access-date=October 6, 2018 |archive-date=November 18, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181118185320/http://www.simonandschuster.com/books/American-Amnesia/Jacob-S-Hacker/9781451667837 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name=":4">{{cite book |last1=Buhl |first1=Geoffrey W. |last2=Frisch |first2=Scott A. |last3=Kelly |first3=Sean Q. |article=Appropriations to the Extreme: Partisanship and the Power of the Purse |year=2013 |title=Politics to the Extreme |pages=3–21 |publisher=Palgrave Macmillan US |doi=10.1057/9781137312761_1 |isbn=9781137361424}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last1=Dodd |first1=Lawrence C. |last2=Schraufnagel |first2=Scot |article=Taking Incivility Seriously |year=2013 |title=Politics to the Extreme |pages=71–91 |publisher=Palgrave Macmillan US |doi=10.1057/9781137312761_4 |isbn=9781137361424}}</ref><ref name=":7">{{cite book |last=Harris |first=Douglas B. |article=Let's Play Hardball |year=2013 |title=Politics to the Extreme |pages=93–115 |publisher=Palgrave Macmillan US |doi=10.1057/9781137312761_5 |isbn=9781137361424}}</ref><ref name=":6">{{cite news |url=https://columbialawreview.org/content/asymmetric-constitutional-hardball/ |title=Asymmetric constitutional hardball |publisher=Columbia Law |work=Columbia Law Review |access-date=October 8, 2018 |archive-date=January 19, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190119095233/https://columbialawreview.org/content/asymmetric-constitutional-hardball/ |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name=":8">{{cite book |title=Red Fighting Blue |last=Hopkins |first=David A. |date=2017 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |isbn=9781108123594 |location=Cambridge |pages=156–157, 158–162 |doi=10.1017/9781108123594}}</ref><ref name=":10" /> According to Harvard University political scientists [[Daniel Ziblatt]] and [[Steven Levitsky]], Gingrich's speakership had a profound and lasting impact on American politics and health of American democracy. They argue that Gingrich instilled a "combative" approach in the Republican Party, where hateful language and hyper-partisanship became commonplace, and where democratic norms were abandoned. Gingrich frequently questioned the patriotism of Democrats, called them corrupt, compared them to [[fascists]], and accused them of wanting to destroy the United States. Gingrich furthermore oversaw several major government shutdowns.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://newrepublic.com/article/145916/democracy-dies-donald-trump-contempt-for-american-political-institutions |title=How a Democracy Dies |magazine=[[The New Republic]] |access-date=April 12, 2018 |archive-date=December 11, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181211105538/https://newrepublic.com/article/145916/democracy-dies-donald-trump-contempt-for-american-political-institutions |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |url=https://www.npr.org/2018/01/22/579670528/how-democracies-die-authors-say-trump-is-a-symptom-of-deeper-problems |title=''How Democracies Die'' authors say Trump is a symptom of 'deeper problems' |publisher=[[NPR]]|access-date=April 12, 2018 |archive-date=December 8, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181208011203/https://www.npr.org/2018/01/22/579670528/how-democracies-die-authors-say-trump-is-a-symptom-of-deeper-problems |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=https://news.harvard.edu/gazette/story/2018/01/the-rising-pressures-on-american-democracy/ |title=The rising pressures on American democracy |date=January 29, 2018 |newspaper=Harvard Gazette |access-date=April 12, 2018 |archive-date=November 30, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181130201624/https://news.harvard.edu/gazette/story/2018/01/the-rising-pressures-on-american-democracy/ |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name=":3" />

[[University of Maryland]] political scientist Lilliana Mason identified Gingrich's instructions to Republicans to use words such as "betray, bizarre, decay, destroy, devour, greed, lie, pathetic, radical, selfish, shame, sick, steal, and traitors" about Democrats as an example of a breach in social norms and exacerbation of partisan prejudice.<ref name=":0" /> Gingrich is a key figure in the 2017 book ''The Polarizers'' by Colgate University political scientist Sam Rosenfeld about the American political system's shift to polarization and gridlock.<ref name=":1">{{Cite book|url=https://www.press.uchicago.edu/ucp/books/book/chicago/P/bo24660595.html|title=The Polarizers|last=Rosenfeld|first=Sam|publisher=University of Chicago Press|year=2017|access-date=October 6, 2018|archive-date=November 15, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181115061143/https://www.press.uchicago.edu/ucp/books/book/chicago/P/bo24660595.html|url-status=live}}</ref> Rosenfeld describes Gingrich as follows, "For Gingrich, responsible party principles were paramount... From the outset, he viewed the congressional minority party's role in terms akin to those found in parliamentary systems, prioritizing drawing stark programmatic contrasts over engaging the majority party as junior participants in governance."<ref name=":1" />

Boston College political scientist David Hopkins writes that Gingrich helped to nationalize American politics in a way where Democratic politicians on the state and local level were increasingly tied to the national Democratic party and President Clinton. Hopkins notes that Gingrich's view<ref name=":8" />

<blockquote>directly contradicted the conventional wisdom of politics... that parties in a two-party system achieve increasing electoral success as they move closer to the ideological center... Gingrich and his allies believed that an organized effort to intensify the ideological contrast between the congressional parties would allow the Republicans to make electoral inroads in the South. They worked energetically to tie individual Democratic incumbents to the party's more liberal national leadership while simultaneously raising highly charged cultural issues in Congress, such as proposed constitutional amendments to allow prayer in public schools and to ban the burning of the American flag, on which conservative positions were widely popular – especially among southern voters. </blockquote>

Gingrich's view was however vindicated with the Republican Party's success in the 1994 U.S. midterm elections, sometimes referred to as the "Gingrich Revolution."<ref name=":8" /> Hopkins writes, "More than any speaker before or since, Gingrich had become both the strategic architect and public face of his party."<ref name=":8" /> One consequence of the increasing nationalization of politics was that moderate Republican incumbents in blue states were left more vulnerable to electoral defeat.<ref name=":8" />

According to University of Texas political scientist Sean M. Theriault, Gingrich had a profound influence on other Republican lawmakers, in particular those who served with him in the House, as they adopted his obstructionist tactics.<ref name=":2">{{Cite book|url=https://global.oup.com/academic/product/the-gingrich-senators-9780199307456?cc=is&lang=en&#|title=The Gingrich Senators: The Roots of Partisan Warfare in Congress|last=Theriault|first=Sean M.|date=May 23, 2013|publisher=Oxford University Press|isbn=9780199307456|location=Oxford, New York|access-date=October 6, 2018|archive-date=November 22, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181122012735/https://global.oup.com/academic/product/the-gingrich-senators-9780199307456?cc=is&lang=en&|url-status=live}}</ref> A 2011 study by Theriault and Duke University political scientist [[David W. Rohde]] in the ''Journal of Politics'' found that "almost the entire growth in Senate party polarization since the early 1970s can be accounted for by Republican senators who previously served in the House after 1978" when Gingrich was first elected to the House.<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Theriault|first1=Sean M.|last2=Rohde|first2=David W.|s2cid=31052699|date=2011|title=The Gingrich Senators and Party Polarization in the U.S. Senate|journal=The Journal of Politics|volume=73|issue=4|pages=1011–1024|doi=10.1017/s0022381611000752|issn=0022-3816}}</ref>

Gingrich consolidated power in the Speaker's office.<ref name=":6" /> Gingrich elevated junior and more ideologically extreme House members to powerful committees, such as the Appropriations Committee, which over time led to the obliteration of internal norms in the committees.<ref name=":4" /><ref name=":5">{{Cite journal|last=Lee|first=Frances E.|date=May 11, 2015|title=How Party Polarization Affects Governance|journal=Annual Review of Political Science|volume=18|issue=1|pages=261–282|doi=10.1146/annurev-polisci-072012-113747|doi-access=free |issn=1094-2939}}</ref> Term limits were also imposed on committee chairs, which prevented Republican chairs from developing a power base separate from the Republican Party.<ref name=":5" /> As a result, the power of Gingrich was strengthened and there was an increase in conformity among Republican congresspeople.<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Aldrich|first1=John H.|last2=Rohde|first2=David W.|date=February 2000|title=The Republican Revolution and the House Appropriations Committee|journal=The Journal of Politics|volume=62|issue=1|pages=1–33|doi=10.1111/0022-3816.00001|s2cid=154995219|issn=0022-3816}}</ref>

=== Legislation ===

==== Welfare reform ====
A central pledge of President [[Bill Clinton]]'s campaign was to reform the welfare system, adding changes such as work requirements for recipients. However, by 1994, the [[Presidency of Bill Clinton|Clinton administration]] appeared to be more concerned with pursuing a [[universal health care]] program. Gingrich accused Clinton of stalling on welfare, and proclaimed that Congress could pass a welfare reform bill in as little as 90 days. He insisted that the Republican Party would continue to apply political pressure on the President to approve their welfare legislation.<ref>{{cite news |title=Clinton Puzzle: How to Delay Welfare Reform Yet Seem to Pursue It |first=Jason |last=DeParle |newspaper=[[The New York Times]] |date=January 5, 1994 |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1994/01/05/us/clinton-puzzle-how-to-delay-welfare-reform-yet-seem-to-pursue-it.html |access-date=October 28, 2010 |archive-date=May 15, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130515112326/http://www.nytimes.com/1994/01/05/us/clinton-puzzle-how-to-delay-welfare-reform-yet-seem-to-pursue-it.html |url-status=live }}</ref>

In 1996, after constructing two welfare reform bills that Clinton vetoed,<ref name="Gillon">{{cite book |title=The Pact: Bill Clinton, Newt Gingrich, and the Rivalry that Defined a Generation |last=Gillon |first=Steven |year=2008 |publisher=Oxford University Press, United States |isbn=978-0-19-532278-1 |page=[https://archive.org/details/pactbillclintonn00gill/page/177 177] |url=https://archive.org/details/pactbillclintonn00gill/page/177 }}</ref> Gingrich and his supporters pushed for passage of the [[Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Act]], which was intended to reconstruct the welfare system. The act gave state governments more autonomy over welfare delivery, while also reducing the federal government's responsibilities. It instituted the [[Temporary Assistance for Needy Families]] program, which placed time limits on welfare assistance and replaced the longstanding [[Aid to Families with Dependent Children]] program. Other changes to the welfare system included stricter conditions for food stamp eligibility, reductions in immigrant welfare assistance, and work requirements for recipients.<ref>{{cite journal |last=O'Connor |first=Brendan |title=The protagonists and ideas behind the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996: The enactment of a conservative welfare system |journal=Social Justice |date=Winter 2001}}</ref> The bill was signed into law by President Clinton on August 22, 1996.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Glass |first1=Andrew |title=Clinton signs 'Welfare to Work' bill, Aug. 22, 1996 |url=https://www.politico.com/story/2018/08/22/clinton-signs-welfare-to-work-bill-aug-22-1996-790321 |date=August 22, 2018 |work=[[Politico]] |access-date=March 4, 2020 |archive-date=March 4, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200304010642/https://www.politico.com/story/2018/08/22/clinton-signs-welfare-to-work-bill-aug-22-1996-790321 |url-status=live }}</ref>

In his 1998 book ''Lessons Learned the Hard Way'', Gingrich encouraged volunteerism and spiritual renewal, placing more importance on families, creating tax incentives and reducing regulations for businesses in poor neighborhoods, and increasing property ownership by low-income families. He also praised [[Habitat for Humanity]] for sparking the movement to improve people's lives by helping them build their own homes.<ref>{{cite book |title=Lessons Learned the Hard Way: A Personal Report |last=Gingrich |first=Newt |year=1998 |publisher=HarperCollins Publishers |isbn=978-0-06-019106-1 |pages=74–85 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=34J4AAAAMAAJ |access-date=March 18, 2014 |archive-date=August 6, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200806184804/https://books.google.com/books?id=34J4AAAAMAAJ |url-status=live }}</ref>

==== Balancing the federal budget ====
[[File:President Bill Clinton and Newt Gingrich in Congressional budget meeting.jpg|thumb|right|Gingrich and President [[Bill Clinton]] during a congressional budget negotiation meeting in December 1995]]

A key aspect of the 1994 [[Contract with America]] was the promise of a [[United States federal budget|balanced federal budget]]. After the end of the government shutdown, Gingrich and other Republican leaders acknowledged that Congress would not be able to draft a balanced budget in 1996. Instead, they opted to approve some small reductions that were already approved by the White House and to wait until the next election season.<ref>{{cite news|title=Gingrich concedes he can't force balanced budget in 1996 |first=Ceci |last=Connolly |newspaper=St. Petersburg Times|date=January 25, 1996}}</ref>

By May 1997, Republican congressional leaders reached a compromise with Democrats and President Clinton on the federal budget. The agreement called for a federal spending plan designed to reduce the federal deficit and achieve a balanced budget by 2002. The plan included a total of $152&nbsp;billion in bipartisan tax cuts over five years.<ref name=taxcuts>{{cite news|title=Clinton Lauds Bipartisanship Behind Budget; He Signs Bills That Will Cut Taxes For Many.|first=Marsha|last=Mercer|agency=Media General News Service|newspaper=Richmond Times Dispatch|date=August 6, 1997}}</ref> Other major parts of the spending plan called for $115&nbsp;billion to be saved through a restructuring of Medicare, $24&nbsp;billion set aside to extend health insurance to children of the [[working poor]], tax credits for college tuition, and a $2&nbsp;billion welfare-to-work jobs initiative.<ref>{{cite news|title=Clinton, GOP leaders craft budget package; Deal would erase shortfall by 2002, cut taxes by $ 85b |first=Brian |last=McGrory |newspaper=[[The Boston Globe]]|date=May 3, 1997}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|title=Clinton signs balanced budget, tax break law.|first=Sonya|last=Ross|newspaper=Chicago Sun-Times|date=August 5, 1997}}</ref>

President Clinton signed the budget legislation in August 1997. At the signing, Gingrich gave credit to ordinary Americans stating, "It was their political will that brought the two parties together."<ref name=taxcuts />
[[File:1995 State of the Union Address.jpg|thumb|Gingrich as Speaker during the 1995 State of the Union Address]]
In early 1998, with the economy performing better than expected, increased tax revenues helped reduce the federal budget deficit to below $25&nbsp;billion. Clinton submitted a balanced budget for 1999, three years ahead of schedule originally proposed, making it the first time the federal budget had been balanced since 1969.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/politics/special/budget/stories/010698.htm|title=Washingtonpost.com: Clinton to Propose '99 Balanced Budget|website=www.washingtonpost.com|access-date=September 22, 2019|archive-date=September 22, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190922074403/https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/politics/special/budget/stories/010698.htm|url-status=live}}</ref>

==== Taxpayer Relief Act of 1997 ====
In 1997, President Clinton signed into effect the [[Taxpayer Relief Act of 1997]], which included the largest [[Capital gains tax in the United States|capital gains tax]] cut in U.S. history. Under the act, the profits on the sale of a personal residence ($500,000 for married couples, $250,000 for singles) were exempted if lived in for at least two of the previous five years. (This had previously been limited to a $125,000 once-in-a-lifetime exemption for those over the age of 55.)<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.filetax.com/97taxact.html#home |title=Taxpayer Relief Act of 1997 |publisher=Filetax.com |access-date=May 12, 2011 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080712205931/http://www.filetax.com/97taxact.html |archive-date=July 12, 2008 }}</ref> There were also reductions in a number of other taxes on investment gains.<ref>{{cite news|title=Reaganomics: What We Learned|url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB10001424052748704364004576132473777840938|first=Arthur B.|last=Laffer|newspaper=[[The Wall Street Journal]]|date=February 10, 2011|access-date=August 8, 2017|archive-date=August 27, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170827125915/https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB10001424052748704364004576132473777840938|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name=FindLaw>{{cite web|title=The Taxpayer Relief Act of 1997: An Overview of Selected Provisions|url=http://library.findlaw.com/1997/Jan/1/126242.html|author1=Buchanan Ingersoll|author2=Rooney PC|name-list-style=amp|work=FindLaw|access-date=May 5, 2011|archive-date=April 25, 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110425045452/http://library.findlaw.com/1997/Jan/1/126242.html|url-status=live}}</ref>

Additionally, the act raised the value of inherited [[Estate (law)|estates]] and gifts that could be sheltered from taxation.<ref name=FindLaw /> Gingrich has been credited with creating the agenda for the reduction in capital gains tax, especially in the Contract with America, which set out to balance the budget and implement decreases in estate and capital gains tax. Some Republicans felt that the compromise reached with Clinton on the budget and tax act was inadequate;<ref>{{cite news |title=Like him or not, Gingrich deserves credit for budget |first=John |last=Farmer |newspaper=The Star-Ledger |location=Newark, New Jersey |date=August 4, 1997}}</ref> however, Gingrich stated that the tax cuts were a significant accomplishment for the Republican Congress in the face of opposition from the Clinton administration.<ref>{{cite news |title=Gingrich sees life in GOP revolution|first=John|last=Marelius|newspaper=[[The San Diego Union-Tribune]]|date=August 19, 1997}}</ref> Gingrich along with [[Bob Dole]] had earlier set-up the [[Kemp Commission]], headed by former US Secretary of Housing and Urban Development [[Jack Kemp]], a tax reform commission that made several recommendations including that dividends, interest, and capital gains should be untaxed.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=1042061 |title=Kemp Commission |publisher=Npr.org |date=January 17, 1996 |access-date=January 26, 2012 |archive-date=June 18, 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120618104408/http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=1042061 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name=two>{{cite report |url=http://www.brookings.edu/~/media/Files/rc/articles/1996/0205taxes_gale/19960205.pdf |title=The Kemp Commission and the Future of Tax Reform |first=William |last=Gale |publisher=[[Brookings Institution]] |date=February 5, 1996|url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071103100614/http://www3.brookings.edu/~/media/Files/rc/articles/1996/0205taxes_gale/19960205.pdf |archive-date=November 3, 2007}}</ref>

==== Other legislation ====
Among the first pieces of legislation passed by the new Congress under Gingrich was the [[Congressional Accountability Act of 1995]], which subjected members of Congress to the same laws that apply to businesses and their employees, including the [[Civil Rights Act of 1964]] and the [[Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990]]. As a provision of the Contract with America, the law was symbolic of the new Republican majority's goal to remove some of the entitlements enjoyed by Congress. The bill received near universal acceptance from the House and Senate and was signed into law on January 23, 1995.<ref>{{cite news |title='Contract' fulfilled, but job isn't finished; GOP keeps up fast pace in Congress |first=Laurie |last=Kellman |newspaper=The Washington Times |date=April 7, 1995}}</ref>

Gingrich shut down the highly regarded [[Office of Technology Assessment]], and relied instead on what the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists called "self-interested lobbyists and think tanks".<ref>{{cite web |author=Schwellenbach, Nick |url=http://pogoblog.typepad.com/pogo/2011/12/renowned-physicists-cast-doubt-on-gingrichs-far-fetched-emp-scenario.html |title=Renowned physicists cast doubt on Gingrich's far-fetched EMP scenario |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160226005217/http://pogoblog.typepad.com/pogo/2011/12/renowned-physicists-cast-doubt-on-gingrichs-far-fetched-emp-scenario.html |archive-date=February 26, 2016 |series=Project on Government Oversight |date=December 13, 2011}}</ref>

=== Government shutdown ===
{{Main|1995–1996 United States federal government shutdowns}}
[[File:Budget negotiations with congressional leadership.jpg|thumb|Senator [[Bob Dole]], Vice President [[Al Gore]], President Clinton and Gingrich converge for budget negotiations in December 1995]]
Gingrich and the incoming Republican majority's promise to slow the rate of government spending conflicted with the president's agenda for [[Medicare (United States)|Medicare]], education, the [[Natural environment|environment]] and [[public health]], leading to two temporary shutdowns of the federal government totaling 28 days.<ref name=fram>{{cite news |title=Clinton vetoes borrowing bill—government shutdown nears as rhetoric continues to roil |first=Alan |last=Fram |url=https://archive.seattletimes.com/archive/19951113/2152355/clinton-vetoes-borrowing-bill |agency=[[Associated Press]] |newspaper=[[The Seattle Times]] |date=November 13, 1995 |access-date=March 3, 2011 |archive-date=May 23, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110523001904/http://community.seattletimes.nwsource.com/archive/?date=19951113&slug=2152355 |url-status=live }}</ref>

Clinton said Republican amendments would strip the [[United States Department of the Treasury|U.S. Treasury]] of its ability to dip into federal trust funds to avoid a borrowing crisis. Republican amendments would have limited appeals by death-row inmates, made it harder to issue health, safety and environmental regulations, and would have committed the president to a seven-year balanced budget. Clinton vetoed a second bill allowing the government to keep operating beyond the time when most spending authority expires.<ref name=fram />

A GOP amendment opposed by Clinton would not only have increased [[Medicare (United States)#Part B: Medical insurance|Medicare Part&nbsp;B]] premiums, but it would also cancel a scheduled reduction. The Republicans held out for an increase in Medicare Part&nbsp;B premiums in January 1996 to $53.50 a month. Clinton favored the then current law, which was to let the premium that seniors pay drop to $42.50.<ref name=fram/>

The government closed most non-essential offices during the shutdown, which was the longest in U.S. history at the time. The shutdown ended when Clinton agreed to submit a CBO-approved balanced budget plan.<ref>{{cite news |title=Record-breaking federal shutdown ends |url=http://www.cnn.com/US/9601/budget/01-06/pm/index.html |publisher=[[CNN]] |date=January 6, 1996 |access-date=March 3, 2011 |archive-date=January 20, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110120220139/http://www.cnn.com/US/9601/budget/01-06/pm/index.html |url-status=live }}</ref>

During the crisis, Gingrich's public image suffered from the perception that the Republicans' hardline budget stance was owed partly to an alleged snub of Gingrich by Clinton during a flight on Air Force One to and from [[Yitzhak Rabin]]'s funeral in Israel.<ref>{{Cite book |last1=DeLay |first1=Tom |author-link1=Tom DeLay |first2=Stephen |last2=Mansfield |title=No Retreat, No Surrender: One American's Fight |page=112}}</ref> That perception developed after the trip when Gingrich, while being questioned by [[Lars-Erik Nelson]] at a ''[[Christian Science Monitor]]'' breakfast, said that he was dissatisfied that Clinton had not invited him to discuss the budget during the flight.<ref name="columbia">{{cite web |url=http://www.college.columbia.edu/cct_archive/may01/may01_profile_nelson.html |title=''Lars-Erik Nelson '64: A Subversive Among Cynics'' |publisher=Columbia University |access-date=October 15, 2013 |archive-date=October 14, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131014173906/http://www.college.columbia.edu/cct_archive/may01/may01_profile_nelson.html |url-status=live }}</ref> He complained that he and Dole were instructed to use the plane's rear exit to deplane, saying the snub was "part of why you ended up with us sending down a tougher continuing resolution".<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.cnn.com/US/9511/debt_limit/11-16/budget_gingrich |title=White House: Gingrich comment "bizarre" |publisher=[[CNN]]|date=November 16, 1995 |access-date=May 12, 2011 |archive-date=April 15, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110415225750/http://www.cnn.com/US/9511/debt_limit/11-16/budget_gingrich/ |url-status=live }}</ref> In response to Gingrich's complaint that they were "forced to use the rear door," NBC news released their videotape footage showing both Gingrich and Dole disembarking at Tel Aviv just behind Clinton via the front stairway.<ref name=Seattle-Times-111695>{{cite news |title=Gingrich: Snub caused impasse – treatment on Air Force One blamed |url=https://archive.seattletimes.com/archive/19951116/2152925/gingrich-snub-caused-impasse----treatment-on-air-force-one-blamed |newspaper=[[The Seattle Times]] |date=November 16, 1995 |access-date=January 5, 2013 |archive-date=November 25, 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121125051641/http://community.seattletimes.nwsource.com/archive/?date=19951116&slug=2152925 |url-status=live }}</ref>

Gingrich was widely lampooned for implying that the government shutdown was a result of his personal grievances, including a widely shared editorial cartoon depicting him as a baby throwing a [[tantrum]].<ref>{{Cite news |work=[[New York Daily News]] |url=http://www.nydailynews.com/polopoly_fs/1.1637383!img/httpImage/crybaby-jpg.jpg |title=Daily News cartoon |access-date=September 25, 2018 |archive-date=September 26, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180926014326/http://www.nydailynews.com/polopoly_fs/1.1637383!img/httpImage/crybaby-jpg.jpg |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last1=Dunn |first1=Martin |title=Newt 'Cry Baby' Gingrich: my part in his downfall |url=https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/cifamerica/2012/jan/25/newt-cry-baby-gingrich |work=[[The Guardian]]|date=January 25, 2012 |access-date=December 28, 2021}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last1=Purdum |first1=Todd S. |title=Gingrich Shut Down the Government in a Tantrum 23 Years Ago |url=https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2018/12/newt-gingrichs-1995-shutdown-came-fit-pique/578923/ |publisher=[[The Atlantic]] |date=December 21, 2018 |access-date=December 28, 2021}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last1=Murawinski |first1=Ed |title=I drew the 'Cry Baby' heard round the world. (No, it wasn't Trump.) |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/outlook/i-drew-the-cry-baby-heard-round-the-world-no-it-wasnt-trump/2019/01/11/71542fe6-14e8-11e9-b6ad-9cfd62dbb0a8_story.html |newspaper=[[The Washington Post]] |date=January 11, 2019 |access-date=December 28, 2021}}</ref>

Democratic leaders, including [[Chuck Schumer]], took the opportunity to attack Gingrich's motives for the budget standoff.<ref>{{Cite news |url=https://www.pbs.org/newshour/bb/congress/november96/newtb_11-20.html |title=The State of Newt |date=November 20, 1996 |publisher=[[PBS NewsHour]]|first=Kwame |last=Hollman |access-date=August 14, 2006 |archive-date=March 23, 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070323164613/http://www.pbs.org/newshour/bb/congress/november96/newtb_11-20.html |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite magazine |title=Newt Gingrich's Implosion |first=Deroy |last=Murdock |url=http://www.nationalreview.com/comment/commentprint082800d.html |date=August 28, 2000|access-date=August 15, 2006 |magazine=[[National Review]] |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060616073923/http://www.nationalreview.com/comment/commentprint082800d.html |archive-date=June 16, 2006}}</ref> In 1998, Gingrich said that these comments were his "single most avoidable mistake" as Speaker.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Gingrich |first1=Newt |title=Lessons Learned the Hard Way |date=May 1998 |publisher=HarperCollins |location=New York |isbn=978-0-06-019106-1 |pages=[https://archive.org/details/lessonslearnedha0000ging/page/42 42]–46 |url=https://archive.org/details/lessonslearnedha0000ging|url-access=registration }}</ref>

Discussing the impact of the government shutdown on the Republican Party, Gingrich later commented that, "Everybody in Washington thinks that was a big mistake. They're exactly wrong. There had been no reelected Republican majority since 1928. Part of the reason we got reelected&nbsp;... is our base thought we were serious. And they thought we were serious because when it came to a show-down, we didn't flinch."<ref>{{cite news|title=Starving ObamaCare |author=Klein, Philip |newspaper=The American Spectator |date=July–August 2010 |url=http://spectator.org/archives/2010/08/06/starving-obamacare/print |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101231085942/http://spectator.org/archives/2010/08/06/starving-obamacare/print |archive-date=December 31, 2010}}</ref> In a 2011 op-ed in ''The Washington Post'', Gingrich said that the government shutdown led to the balanced-budget deal in 1997 and the first four consecutive balanced budgets since the 1920s, as well as the first re-election of a Republican majority since 1928.<ref name="Gingrich WaPo">{{cite news |title=If it comes to a shutdown, the GOP should stick to its principles |first=Newt |last=Gingrich |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2011/02/25/AR2011022502924_2.html?sid=ST2011022503108 |newspaper=[[The Washington Post]] |date=February 25, 2011 |access-date=February 28, 2011 |archive-date=June 29, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110629020041/http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2011/02/25/AR2011022502924_2.html?sid=ST2011022503108 |url-status=live }}</ref>

=== Ethics charges and reprimand ===
[[File:Clinton1997SOTU.jpg|thumb|upright|Vice President Gore, Gingrich and President Clinton at the [[1997 State of the Union Address]]]]
Eighty-four ethics charges were filed by Democrats against Gingrich during his term as Speaker. All were eventually dropped except for one: claiming tax-exempt status for a college course run for political purposes.<ref name="curtawapo">{{cite news |author=Anderson, Curt |date=October 11, 1998 |url=https://washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/politics/govt/leadership/stories/101198.htm |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20000817053602/http://washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/politics/govt/leadership/stories/101198.htm |archive-date=August 17, 2000 |title=Ethics committee drops last of 84&nbsp;charges against Gingrich |newspaper=[[The Washington Post]] |agency=[[Associated Press]]}}</ref> On January 21, 1997, the House officially [[List of United States Representatives expelled, censured, or reprimanded#Reprimanded Representatives|reprimanded]] Gingrich (in a vote of 395 in favor, 28&nbsp;opposed) and "ordered [him] to reimburse the House for some of the costs of the investigation in the amount of $300,000".<ref name="HSCE">{{cite web |url=http://ethics.house.gov/committee-report/matter-representative-newt-gingrich |title=In the Matter of Representative Newt Gingrich (Report 105-1) |date=January 17, 1997 |publisher=House Select Committee on Ethics |access-date=February 8, 2012 |archive-date=February 8, 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120208092402/http://ethics.house.gov/committee-report/matter-representative-newt-gingrich |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/politics/govt/leadership/stories/011897.htm |title=Ethics Panel Supports Reprimand of Gingrich |first1=John E. |last1=Yang |first2=Helen |last2=Dewar |name-list-style=amp |date=January 18, 1997 |newspaper=[[The Washington Post]] |access-date=February 8, 2012 |archive-date=February 9, 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120209072632/http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/politics/govt/leadership/stories/011897.htm |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="yang012297"/> It was the first time a Speaker was disciplined for an ethics violation.<ref name="yang012297">{{cite news |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/politics/govt/leadership/stories/012297.htm |newspaper=[[The Washington Post]] |author-link=John Yang (journalist) |title=House Reprimands, Penalizes Speaker |first=John E. |last=Yang |date=January 22, 1997 |page=A1 |access-date=September 6, 2017 |archive-date=May 25, 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100525123429/http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/politics/govt/leadership/stories/012297.htm |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="clymer012297">{{cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1997/01/22/us/house-in-a-395-28-vote-reprimands-gingrich.html |title=House, in a 395–28 vote, reprimands Gingrich |last=Clymer |first=Adam |date=January 22, 1997 |newspaper=[[The New York Times]] |page=1 |access-date=January 24, 2012 |archive-date=January 29, 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120129014209/http://www.nytimes.com/1997/01/22/us/house-in-a-395-28-vote-reprimands-gingrich.html |url-status=live }}</ref>

Additionally, the [[United States House Committee on Ethics|House Ethics Committee]] concluded that inaccurate information supplied to investigators on behalf of Gingrich represented "intentional or&nbsp;... reckless" disregard of House rules.<ref name=dewar>{{cite news |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/politics/govt/leadership/stories/011897.htm |title=Ethics Panel Supports Reprimand of Gingrich |newspaper=[[The Washington Post]]|author1=Yang, John E. |author2=Dewar, Helen |page=A1 |date=January 18, 1997 |access-date=August 15, 2006 |archive-date=August 21, 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080821144555/http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/politics/govt/leadership/stories/011897.htm |url-status=live }}</ref> The Ethics Committee's Special Counsel [[James M. Cole]] concluded that Gingrich had violated federal tax law and had lied to the ethics panel in an effort to force the committee to dismiss the complaint against him. The full committee panel did not agree whether tax law had been violated and left that issue up to the [[Internal Revenue Service|IRS]].<ref name=dewar/> In 1999, the IRS cleared the organizations connected with the "Renewing American Civilization" courses under investigation for possible tax violations.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9A0DE7D61138F937A35751C0A96F958260&sec=&spon=&pagewanted=1 |work=[[The New York Times]] |first=David E. |last=Rosenbaum |title=I.R.S. Clears Foundation Linked to Gingrich's Ethics Dispute |date=February 4, 1999 |access-date=February 11, 2017 |archive-date=November 22, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201122132245/https://www.nytimes.com/1999/02/04/us/irs-clears-foundation-linked-to-gingrich-s-ethics-dispute.html |url-status=live }}</ref>

Regarding the situation, Gingrich said in January 1997, "I did not manage the effort intensely enough to thoroughly direct or review information being submitted to the committee on my behalf. In my name and over my signature, inaccurate, incomplete and unreliable statements were given to the committee, but I did not intend to mislead the committee&nbsp;... I brought down on the people's house a controversy which could weaken the faith people have in their government."<ref name="clymer122296">{{Cite news |title=Panel Concludes Gingrich Violated Rules on Ethics |url=http://partners.nytimes.com/library/politics/1222gingrich-ethics.html?scp=1&sq=gingrich%20ethics&st=cse |date=December 22, 1996 |first=Adam |last=Clymer |author-link=Adam Clymer |work=[[The New York Times]] |access-date=January 3, 2012 |archive-date=January 12, 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120112215912/http://partners.nytimes.com/library/politics/1222gingrich-ethics.html?scp=1&sq=gingrich%20ethics&st=cse |url-status=live }}</ref>

=== Leadership challenge ===
[[File:Dick Gephardt.jpg|thumb|[[Dick Gephardt]] tried to replace Gingrich as Speaker of the House.]]
In the summer of 1997, several House Republicans attempted to replace him as Speaker, arguing Gingrich's public image was a liability. The attempted "coup" began July 9 with a meeting of Republican conference chairman [[John Boehner]] of [[Ohio]] and Republican leadership chairman [[Bill Paxon]] of New York. According to their plan, [[House Majority Leader]] [[Dick Armey]], [[House Majority Whip]] [[Tom DeLay]], Boehner and Paxon were to present Gingrich with an ultimatum: resign, or be voted out.

However, Armey balked at the proposal to make Paxon the new Speaker, and told his chief of staff to warn Gingrich.<ref>{{Cite news |url=http://www.cnn.com/ALLPOLITICS/1997/07/21/time/gingrich.html |publisher=[[CNN]]|title=Attempted Republican Coup: Ready, Aim, Misfire |access-date=May 20, 2010 |archive-date=January 21, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110121040531/http://www.cnn.com/ALLPOLITICS/1997/07/21/time/gingrich.html |url-status=live }}</ref> On July 11, Gingrich met with senior Republican leadership to assess the situation. He explained that under no circumstance would he step down. If he was voted out, there would be a new election for Speaker. This would allow for the possibility that Democrats, along with dissenting Republicans, would vote in Democrat [[Dick Gephardt]] as Speaker.

On July 16, Paxon offered to resign his post, feeling that he had not handled the situation correctly, as the only member of the leadership who had been appointed to his position{{snd}}by Gingrich{{snd}}instead of elected.<ref name=Lessons159>{{cite book |title=Lessons Learned the Hard Way |last=Gingrich |first=Newt |year=1998 |publisher=HarperCollins Publishers |isbn=978-0-06-019106-1 |pages=159–160 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=34J4AAAAMAAJ |access-date=March 18, 2014 |archive-date=August 6, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200806184804/https://books.google.com/books?id=34J4AAAAMAAJ |url-status=live }}</ref> Gingrich accepted Paxon's resignation and directed Paxon to immediately vacate his leadership office space.<ref name=Lessons159/><ref>{{Cite news|last=Erlanger|first=Steven|date=July 21, 1997|title=Paxon Says He Doesn't Want Speaker's Post Despite Revolt|language=en-US|work=[[The New York Times]]|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1997/07/21/us/paxon-says-he-doesn-t-want-speaker-s-post-despite-revolt.html|access-date=June 10, 2020|issn=0362-4331|archive-date=June 10, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200610132953/https://www.nytimes.com/1997/07/21/us/paxon-says-he-doesn-t-want-speaker-s-post-despite-revolt.html|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|title=AllPolitics - Paxon Resigns From GOP Leadership - July 17, 1997|url=https://www.cnn.com/ALLPOLITICS/1997/07/17/paxon.gingrich/|access-date=June 10, 2020|website=www.cnn.com|archive-date=September 7, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200907031540/https://www.cnn.com/ALLPOLITICS/1997/07/17/paxon.gingrich/|url-status=live}}</ref>

=== Resignation ===
In 1998, Gingrich's private polls had given his fellow Republicans the impression that pushing the [[Clinton–Lewinsky scandal]] would damage Clinton's popularity and result in the party winning a net total of six to thirty seats in the House of Representatives. At the same time, Gingrich was having an affair with a [[Callista Gingrich|woman]] 23 years his junior.<ref>{{cite news | publisher = baltimoresun.com | date = January 20, 1995 | title = Gingrich won't give up book deal despite furor | first = Susan | last = Baer | url = https://www.baltimoresun.com/news/bs-xpm-1995-01-20-1995020036-story.html | access-date = March 5, 2020 | archive-date = November 22, 2020 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20201122132243/https://www.baltimoresun.com/ | url-status = live }}</ref> But instead of gaining seats, Republicans lost five, the worst midterm performance in 64 years by a party not holding the presidency.<ref name=kc.l>{{cite magazine |url=http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,989559,00.html |magazine=[[Time (magazine)|Time]]|title=Fall of the House Of Newt |date=November 16, 1998 |access-date=August 17, 2012 |first1=Nancy |last1=Gibbs |first2=Michael |last2=Duffy |archive-date=August 21, 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100821035730/http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,989559,00.html |url-status=dead }}</ref> Other ethics violations, including an unpopular book deal, added to his unpopularity even though he himself was reelected in his own district.<ref name="Fox News">{{cite news |publisher=[[Fox News]]|url=https://www.foxnews.com/story/former-house-speaker-newt-gingrich-acknowledges-having-affair-during-clinton-impeachment/ |title=Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich acknowledges having affair during Clinton impeachment |access-date=August 22, 2018 |archive-date=August 22, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180822050248/http://www.foxnews.com/story/2007/03/08/former-house-speaker-newt-gingrich-acknowledges-having-affair-during-clinton.html |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite news | publisher =  politifact.com | date =  January 23, 2012 | title =  Did Gingrich leave speakership "in disgrace"? | author =  Louis Jacobson and Katie Sanders | url =  https://www.politifact.com/article/2012/jan/23/did-gingrich-leave-speakership-disgrace/ | access-date =  March 5, 2020 | archive-date =  August 5, 2020 | archive-url =  https://web.archive.org/web/20200805030722/https://www.politifact.com/article/2012/jan/23/did-gingrich-leave-speakership-disgrace/ | url-status =  live }}</ref>

The day after the election, a Republican caucus ready to rebel against him prompted his resignation of the speakership. He also announced he intended a full departure from the House a few weeks later. In January 1999 he resigned his seat.<ref name="nytimes1998">{{cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1998/11/08/us/the-speaker-steps-down-excerpts-from-phone-call-about-gingrich-s-future.html |title=The Speaker Steps Down |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160804035421/http://www.nytimes.com/1998/11/08/us/the-speaker-steps-down-excerpts-from-phone-call-about-gingrich-s-future.html |archive-date=August 4, 2016 |newspaper=[[The New York Times]] |date=November 8, 1998}}</ref> When relinquishing the speakership, Gingrich referred to other Republicans when he said he was "not willing to preside over people who are [[Human cannibalism|cannibal]]s".<ref name="nytimes1998"/> Writing a retrospective on his career at that point, ''[[The New York Times]]'' in November 1998 described Gingrich as "an expert in how to seize power, but a novice in holding it" further opining that he "illustrate[d] how hard it is for a radical, polarizing figure to last in leadership".<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1998/11/07/opinion/the-gingrich-coup.html|title=The Gingrich Coup|work=[[The New York Times]]|date=November 7, 1998|access-date=March 27, 2021}}</ref>

In December 1997, Gingrich flirted with a potential run for president in the [[2000 United States presidential election|2000 election]], but his party's midterm performance and his subsequent resignation led him to drop any plans to do so.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.vanityfair.com/news/2011/05/2000-in-july-1997-the|title=A Guide to Every Other Time Newt Gingrich Has Threatened to Run for President|first=Juli|last=Weiner|work=[[Vanity Fair (magazine)|Vanity Fair]]|date=May 9, 2011|access-date=March 27, 2021}}</ref>