Nixon took office after the 1968 presidential election, in which he defeated incumbent Vice President Hubert Humphrey. Although Nixon had built his reputation as a. The Nixon administration adopted a 'low profile' on school desegregation, but the administration enforced court desegregation orders and implemented the first affirmative action plan in the United States. Nixon also presided over the creation of Environmental Protection Agency and the passage of major environmental laws like the Clean Water Act.