The presidency of Jimmy Carter began at noon EST on January 20, 1977, when Jimmy Carter was inaugurated as the 39th President of the United States, and ended on January 20, 1981. Carter, a Democrat from Georgia, took office after defeating incumbent Republican President Gerald Ford in the 1976 presidential election. Carter, a Democrat from Georgia, took office after defeating incumbent Republican President Gerald Ford in the 1976 presidential election. This refusal to play by the rules of Washington contributed to the Carter administration's difficult relationship with Congress. After the election, Carter demanded the power to reorganize the executive branch, alienating powerful Democrats like Speaker Tip O'Neill and Jack Brooks. During the Nixon administration, Congress had passed a series of reforms that removed power from the president, and most members of Congress were unwilling to restore that power even with a Democrat now in office.
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