Frank Underwood

**Francis Joseph Underwood** (born November 5, 1959) is an American politician and statesman who is the 46th and current president of the United States. A member of the Democratic Party, he previously served as the 49th vice president and as House Majority Whip while representing South Carolina as a U.S. Representative from 1991 to 2013.

Born in Gaffney, South Carolina, Underwood studied at The Sentinel before earning his law degree from Harvard University in 1984. He was elected that year to the South Carolina Senate from the 14th district, serving until 1991 when he was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives from South Carolina's 5th congressional district. As a member of Congress, he became known as a conservative Democrat, although he identified as a pragmatist over a conformed ideological faction. Underwood was a longtime member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, becoming the ranking member in 1997 and chair in 2003. He served as the chair until 2005, when he was elected to leadership as House Majority Whip.

As whip, Underwood was known for his ruthless pragmatism in maintaining the House Democratic Caucus' universal conformity to the mainstream position of party leadership. He advised Garrett Walker on foreign policy for his presidential campaign and was nominated for secretary of state after he won the election, but it was rescinded prior to its public announcement. Underwood initiated an elaborate retribution plan against Walker for his disloyalty, aided by his wife Claire Underwood and staffer Doug Stamper. He undermined the nomination of Michael Kern, his replacement as secretary of state, and cornered the administration into selecting his ally Catherine Durant instead. Underwood then manipulated his way to forcing Jim Matthews' resignation as vice president in favor of his previous position, resulting in his nomination to the office.

Underwood was confirmed by the U.S. Congress and was subsequently inaugurated as the 49th vice president of the United States. He continued his retribution plan, using his position to negotiate a deal with congressional Republicans to avert a government shutdown by forcing the administration to change its position on entitlement reform. With a growing economic downturn, Underwood back-channeled with Chinese businessman Xander Feng and botched negotiations during a formal summit, sparking a trade war between the U.S. and China. He intentionally implicated the administration in a foreign money laundering scandal centered around Raymond Tusk by restarting the trade negotiations to secure a contract for one of its infrastructure projects in exchange for a halt in contributions to the Republican Party. Walker resigned amid inevitable impeachment and removal as a result, and Underwood was inaugurated as the 46th president of the United States.

Underwood's early actions as president focused on responding to the stagnant economy, but he diminished his political capital by pardoning Walker and Tusk. He announced that he would not seek reelection to focus on passing his economic program America Works, which proposed substantial changes to Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid, and other entitlements. Underwood declared unemployment as an emergency and used disaster relief allocations to fund the program after Congress voted against it. He was forced to sign a relief bill in response to a hurricane which prohibited funding for America Works, leading Underwood to launch a campaign for reelection with the program's enactment as its centerpiece. He oversaw increased tensions with Russia and promulgated a United Nations peacekeeping mission to the Jordan Valley. Underwood ordered the failed covert operation in response to the crisis in the region, provoking an Israeli invasion. Amid a competitive primary race, he was subject to a near-fatal assassination attempt.

Underwood defeated Republican nominee Will Conway in the 2016 presidential election and was inaugurated for a second term on February 17, 2017, due to the election's initial inconclusiveness. Allegations that his campaign undermined the election resulted in impeachment proceedings against him weeks after the inauguration. Underwood reached a deal to halt proceedings, but federal investigations found credible evidence that his campaign undermined the race, and his election was ruled invalid by the Supreme Court. He was subsequently impeached by the House of Representatives but remained in office after he was acquitted by the Senate. After fighting off investigations, Underwood proposed a series of domestic reforms, but none were enacted by the Republican-majority Congress. With a consequent focus on foreign policy, he ordered intervention in the Syrian Civil War as a direct response to the Islamic Caliphate Organization and unilaterally deployed U.S. forces to the region. Underwood ordered and commanded the military operation that killed ICO leader Ahmed Al Ahmadi. Domestic economic downturns worsened when the market crashed in 2019, which Underwood blamed on Congress for failing to enact his proposals.

Underwood defeated Conway again in the 2020 presidential election after the Supreme Court inadvertently permitted his candidacy for another reelection when they ruled the 2016 election to be invalid, and he was inaugurated for a third term on January 20, 2021. His campaign was again accused of undermining the election, but the Democratic-majority Congress declined to investigate. Underwood signed the Revenue Act of 2021, which raised taxes on individuals and businesses, as a deal for Congress to pass the America Works Act, which overhauled entitlements and invested in new job creation. Underwood continued his troop deployments to the U.S. southern border in response to increased undocumented immigration crossings. He increased military personnel in Syria and oversaw continued operations in the region.

Underwood is ineligible to run for reelection in 2024. Rankings by scholars and historians, of which he has been featured since 2015, frequently rank him as one of the worst presidents in American history.

## Biography

### Early life and education

Francis Joseph Underwood was born on November 5, 1959, in Gaffney, South Carolina, as the only child to Calvin Thomas Underwood, a peach farmer, and his wife Catherine Underwood, a stay-at-home housemaid. Underwood was raised on a ranch in a Southern Baptist family under impoverished circumstances with very little money. Their family farm was frequently under threat of bank foreclosure, and Underwood's father attended a meeting of the local chapter of the Ku Klux Klan to secure a loan, as the bank manager was a member. Calvin Underwood was a heavy alcoholic and excessively abusive towards his wife, which caused Underwood to despise him. In one instance, he was caught attempting suicide and asked his son to finish the killing. When Underwood was 18, his father died of a heart attack aged 43. Underwood later spoke in disapproval for his father's cowardice and weak personality, describing his life as "worthless."

Underwood began schooling when he entered kindergarten two months before his fifth birthday. He attended local public school through his graduation from high school and enrolled at The Sentinel military academy in Charleston, South Carolina, in the fall of 1977. As a cadet, Underwood studied political science and graduated with a Bachelor's of Science (BS) degree as an unexceptional student in 1981.

## Undergraduate studies and early political career

### Law school years

Despite graduating from The Sentinel with poor grades, Underwood was admitted to Harvard University for his undergraduate studies and enrolled in the institution's law school in the fall of 1981. His reputation as an academic significantly improved and Underwood graduated with a Juris Doctor (JD) law degree in the spring of 1984.

### South Carolina Senate (1985-1991)

Underwood declared his candidacy for the 14th district in the South Carolina Senate upon returning to Gaffney after graduating from law school. Although he had a solid base of support in his small hometown, Underwood was generally unknown among the field of candidates in the other cities of the district. He was widely rejected as a nobody candidate, but his youth and firebrand campaign rhetoric caused his popularity to soar. Underwood received a majority of the vote in the Democratic primary and was selected as the nominee. In the general election, which was held a day after his 25th birthday, Underwood defeated his Republican opponent with 55 percent of the vote to become the youngest state lawmaker in South Carolina history. In 2015 article by the *Wall Street Telegraph*, reporter Kate Baldwin described Underwood's election victory as taking the 14th district "by storm." He was reelected to a second term as senator in 1988.

## U.S. House of Representatives (1991-2013)

### Election

In 1989, several months after beginning his second term as a state senator, Underwood announced his candidacy for the Democratic nomination for South Carolina's 5th congressional district in the United States House of Representatives. At age 31 on election day, he was one of the youngest candidates in the 1990 elections cycle. Underwood's tenure in the state senate and the political assets of his youth and campaign style resulted in his easy securing of the party's nomination. In the general election, he defeated his Republican opponent with 61 percent of the vote. His election took place as part of the midterm elections during the presidency of George H.W. Bush. Underwood was sworn in as a U.S. Representative on January 3, 1991, during the opening session of the House of Representatives by speaker Tom Foley. He was reelected in the subsequent eleven consecutive biennial elections, with his last reelection occurring in 2012.

### Domestic affairs

#### Budget and economy

Underwood was elected to Congress amid a mild recession that began in 1990. By mid-1991, the unemployment rate reached a high of 7.8 percent. Underwood was highly critical of the Bush administration's handling of the economy and accused him of aiding the $200 billion threefold increase of the federal budget from the Reagan years. He supported the Clinton administration's economic policy and the philosophy that increased taxes and spending cuts would encourage the Federal Reserve to lower interest rates to spur growth. Underwood voted in favor of the Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1993. The bill cut $255 billion in government spending, much of which was related to Medicare and the armed forces. The bill also increased income taxes on individuals earning more than $100,000 per year and increased the national gas tax.

After Republicans retook control of the House of Representatives in 1994, Underwood voted against Congress' budget plan that ultimately passed and was presented to Clinton for final approval. The proposal would have cut spending for Medicare and lowered the tax rate for top income earners. Underwood voted in favor of a stopgap funding measure to reopen the government after it ultimately shutdown as a result of the budget standoff between Congress and the Clinton administration, but he supported Clinton's veto of a subsequent proposal that would have extended tax cuts for top earners, cut spending on social programs, and shifted control of Medicaid to the states. Privately, Underwood was wary of major social and welfare programs including Medicaid, but he voted against the subsequent budget proposal because of the mainstream position of the Democratic Party. Underwood later voted in favor of a deal between Clinton and Republicans in 1997 that lowered the capital gains tax to 18 percent.

Underwood supported U.S. Vice President Al Gore in the 2000 presidential election. In the ensuing standoff, Underwood wrote an *amicus* brief to the Supreme Court that urged the continuation of a voter recount in Florida. When the Supreme Court ordered the recount to halt, Underwood expressed his strong disapproval but accepted George W. Bush as the lawfully-elected president. Throughout the early 2000's, South Carolina's 5th congressional district became increasingly conservative, and Underwood shifted his already-moderately conservative political positions farther to that side of the spectrum to ensure continued electoral success.

Underwood supported Bush and the Federal Reserve's belief that the best use of budget surpluses from the Clinton administration was to enact lower taxes, as the economy had recovered from the recession of the early 1990's. Underwood voted in favor of the Economic Growth and Tax Relief Reconciliation Act of 2001, although he was critical of the Bush administration's opposition to the trigger provision of the bill that would have phased out the tax reductions in the event of a restart in budget deficits. The law lowered income taxes across the board for all earners, specifically reducing the top rate by more than 4 percent. Additionally, the law eliminated the estate tax and cut capital gains taxes. Despite his support for the first bill, Underwood voted against the subsequent Jobs and Growth Tax Relief Reconciliation Act of 2003, which would have furthered additional tax cuts. He then voted for the American Taxpayer Relief Act of 2012, enacted by the Ellis administration, which partially extended the Bush tax cuts for middle income earners.

### Foreign affairs

#### House Foreign Affairs Committee

Underwood was elected to Congress amid the Bush administration's interventionist foreign policy, with the United States frequently intervening in other nations' affairs both militarily and diplomatically to achieve domestic policy goals. He took a seat on the House Foreign Affairs Committee soon after his election, and he served as a longtime member. Underwood became Ranking Member of the committee in 1997. When Democrats retook control of the House of Representatives in 2002, he became chair and played a major role in the 2003 invasion of Iraq.

#### Gulf War

Underwood voted in favor of the Authorization for Use of Military Force Against Iraq Resolution of 1991, which passed the House of Representatives nine days after he was sworn in. Underwood supported the American-led coalition's bombing campaign across Iraq, particularly in the capital Baghdad, as well as the subsequent ground invasion of Kuwait to evict Iraqi forces from the region. Despite his support for Bush's conduct of the war itself, Underwood criticized the decision not to overthrow the Iraqi government and install a democratic one.

#### Bosnia and Kosovo

Underwood advocated for increased foreign policy attention towards the Balkans after Slobodan Milošević's rise to power in socialist Serbia led to several regional conflicts for independence, claiming that American involvement was crucial because of the recent fall of the Soviet Union. He called for direct American military intervention after ethnic cleansing campaigns by the Bosnian Serbs emerged to the public. His support for intervention developed into calls for an invasion after the Srebrenica massacre, which left more than 8,000 Bosniaks dead. Underwood was a prominent proponent of involvement in the Bosnian War and supported the Clinton administration's use of a NATO bombing campaign to repel the attacks, which eventually resulted in Milošević agreeing to a peace negotiation. Underwood again called for American intervention after Serb forces engaged in another ethnic cleansing campaign against Albanians. He was likewise supportive of involvement in the subsequent Kosovo War and supported Clinton's second NATO bombing campaign which ultimately led to Milošević's overthrow in 2000.

#### Afghanistan and Iraq

Underwood was one of 420 members of the House of Representatives to vote in favor of the Authorization for Use of Military Force on September 14, 2001, three days after the September 11 attacks. The law authorized the invasion of Afghanistan after the Taliban, its governing body, refused to turnover Osama bin Laden and his al-Qaeda terrorist organization, the alleged mastermind of the attacks, to U.S. custody. Underwood supported a hardline approach in responding to the attacks and was in favor of overthrowing the government of Afghanistan in retaliation. He was among many Democrats who voted in favor of the Authorization for Use of Military Force Against Iraq Resolution of 2002. The law authorized the invasion of Iraq and subsequent overthrow of Saddam Hussein in the Iraq War. Underwood supported the Bush administration's claims that Iraq continued to possess weapons of mass destruction (WMD)s, and that they were involved in the September 11 attacks. After it became known that Iraq had no weapons of mass destruction, and that they had no connection to September 11th, Underwood recognized the claims but continued to support the successful overthrow of Saddam Hussein.

### Committee assignments

* Committee on Foreign Affairs (chair)
* Committee on Oversight
	+ Subcommittee on Economic and Consumer Policy
	+ Subcommittee on Government Operations
	+ Subcommittee on National Security (chair)

### Caucus memberships

* Blue Dog Coalition
* New Democrat Coalition

### Reelection campaigns

* 1992
* 1994
* 1996
* 1998
* 2000
* 2002
* 2004
* 2006
* 2008
* 2010
* 2012

### House Majority Whip (2005-2013)

Underwood was elected to leadership of the House Democratic Caucus in 2005, leaving his chairmanship of the Foreign Affairs Committee to become House Majority Whip, the third-ranking position in party leadership under House speaker Bob Birch and House Majority Leader David Rasmussen. As whip, Underwood became known for his ruthless pragmatism in maintaining universal conformity among House Democrats to the mainstream position of party leadership. Critics accused Underwood of employing intimidation, bravado and fear to achieve his policy goals, while others characterized him as plain sociopathic and Machiavellian.

#### Early tenure

Underwood gained a reputation for bipartisanship throughout his tenure as a U.S. Representative, and he personally prided himself in working with four presidential administrations. Despite this, Underwood quickly conformed House Democrats against key aspects of the Bush administration's second term agenda. He whipped the Democratic caucus into universal opposition against their proposals to privatize Social Security. Underwood also opposed the administration's attempted change to immigration laws, and he strongly criticized them for the 2007-2008 financial crisis which led to the Great Recession, blaming their excessive financial deregulation as a key factor. He similarly opposed the tax cut and deficit spending policy of the subsequent Ellis administration, which he alleged did little to restore the economy.

#### 2012 presidential election

*Main article: 2012 United States presidential election*

Underwood's position in congressional leadership led to media speculation of him as a potential contender for the Democratic nomination for president in the 2012 presidential election, but he announced in 2011 that he had no intentions of seeking the presidency. Underwood's announcement came shortly after Democrats retained their majority in the U.S. House of Representatives during the 2010 elections, of which he played a role due to his direct involvement in party fundraising efforts with the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC).

Shortly before the South Carolina primaries in January 2012, Underwood endorsed Colorado governor Garrett Walker for the nomination. The endorsement provided Walker with a boost, and he carried the primaries in Underwood's home state by several points. Underwood's endorsement of Walker was a surprise for numerous politicians, commentators and analysts, as he had been longtime political allies with U.S. Senator Catherine Durant of Louisiana who was also seeking the nomination. The endorsement also led to Walker jumping in national polls, which resulted in Durant eventually dropping out of the race and endorsing him as the presumptive Democratic nominee. In return for his endorsement, Underwood was named as chief foreign policy advisor to the Walker campaign, and he wrote its entire foreign policy platform. Walker defeated incumbent Republican U.S. President George Ellis in the general election with the most votes ever cast for a presidential candidate in American history at that time.

#### U.S. Secretary of State nomination

*Main article: Frank Underwood Secretary of State nomination*

When Underwood was selected as chief foreign policy advisor for the Walker campaign, he was promised a position in the administration as United States secretary of state if Walker should win the election. After Walker easily won the race, he nominated Underwood to the position with a public announcement set for the first week of 2013. Despite Walker's presidential election victory, the 2012 elections were otherwise challenging for Democrats: their seat majority in the House of Representatives shrunk to the single digits while Republicans outperformed expectations and maintained their own majority in the Senate. The tight political environment presented challenges in passing Walker's proposed agenda, and during a January 4 meeting, incoming White House chief of staff Linda Vasquez informed Underwood that Walker had rescinded his secretary of state nomination and opted to keep him in Congress. The purpose of the change was to ensure Underwood's continued political expertise in passing Walker's agenda through the partisan-split legislature. Underwood expressed his outrage with the incoming administration over the decision, and he classified it as a pass over before characterizing Walker as disloyal.

    Underwood met with his chief of staff Doug Stamper in his office at the United States Capitol one day after his meeting with Vasquez where his nomination was rescinded. Aided by Stamper and his wife Claire Underwood, the then-CEO of the Clean Water Initiative, Underwood launched an elaborate plan to attain power and retribution against Walker.

#### Education reform bill leak

*Main article: 2013 education reform bill leak*

After being the subject of an unintentionally suggestive picture with *Washington Herald* reporter Zoe Barnes, Underwood entered a mutually-beneficial symbiotic relationship with her to further her journalistic career in exchange for her publishing damaging stories on his political rivals. In their first exchange, he provided her with a draft of an education reform bill written by U.S. Representative Donald Blythe on behalf of the Walker administration. The politically far-left of center bill contradicted with Walker's ideology, and it was leaked in the media one day after Walker's inauguration and resulted in a crisis for the new administration, which begun Underwood's retribution plan against him.

#### Derailing the Kern nomination

*Further information: Michael Kern Secretary of State nomination*

U.S. Senator Michael Kern of Colorado was nominated to be Underwood's replacement as secretary of state. Meanwhile, U.S. Representative Peter Russo was arrested with prostitute Rachel Posner for driving under the influence on January 10, 2013. Underwood directed his chief of staff Doug Stamper to offer Metropolitan Police chief Barney Hull a bribe of campaign fundraising for a run as mayor of Washington, D.C. in exchange for releasing Russo and Posner, and covering up the DUI charges. Hull agreed, and the two were released in a backroom deal hours after their arrest. Underwood indirectly solicited Posner through Stamper to maintain her silence on the DUI cover-up, and he subsequently met with Russo to confront him on the arrest. Underwood informed Russo that he had covered up his DUI and demanded his absolute loyalty in return, and he planned to use him as his mouthpiece for derailing Kern's nomination.

After Underwood's meeting with Russo, Stamper discovered an article in the Williams College Register from 1978 while Kern was editor. The article called Israel's presence in Gaza and the West Bank an "illegal occupation," in contradiction with the Walker administration's policy. Underwood leaked the article to his journalist associate Zoe Barnes who published it and dispatched Russo to confront Roy Kapeniak, the author of the article. Russo convinced Kapeniak to falsely claim that Kern, who edited the article, wrote it himself which resulted in further public uproar and the rescinding of his nomination as secretary of state. After the nomination was withdrawn, Underwood instructed Barnes to report that the administration was appointing onetime political rival Catherine Durant, a U.S. Senator from Louisiana, as Kern's replacement. Underwood previously met with her and urged her to contend Kern for the position while Barnes' reporting forced Walker to nominate Durant, despite having no prior intention of doing so. Underwood's successful pushing of Durant for secretary of state resulted in him having a political ally in the administration, and he intended to use her to bring down Walker if necessary.

#### Teachers union negotiations

*Further information: Underwood-teacher's union negotiations*

Underwood assumed responsibility for authoring the Walker administration's education reform bill after he leaked U.S. Representative Donald Blythe's draft which beleaguered the administration into a political crisis. He began negotiations with representatives of the major national teacher's unions in April 2013. Following a weekend of negotiations, Underwood and the unions agreed on a final draft of the Education Reform and Achievement Act of 2013.

After the meetings had ended, Underwood unilaterally inserted additional provisions to the bill, which included a limitation on union's collective bargaining power. House speaker Bob Birch informed Underwood during a meeting on May 1 that he would oppose the bill due to the provision, and he refused to put it on the docket of the House of Representatives for a vote.

#### House Democratic coup attempt

*Further information: 2013 House Democratic coup attempt*

One day after his meeting with Birch, where he refused to support the Education Reform and Achievement Act, Underwood launched a scheme to input more of his political allies into congressional leadership. He approached House Majority Leader David Rasmussen and urged him to challenge Birch for the speakership, claiming that he and congressional Republicans were willing to support the plan. Rasmussen refused and threatened to bring the plan to Birch's attention. Underwood disregarded Rasmussen's threat and lobbied members of Congress into supporting his bid for speaker. He subsequently confronted Birch with plan, which he claimed was Rasmussen's idea from the beginning. Underwood threatened to support Birch's ouster as speaker unless he removed Rasmussen from congressional leadership and agreed to put the Education Reform and Achievement Act before the House of Representatives for a vote. Birch agreed to both demands, and on May 7, Rasmussen was replaced as House Majority Leader by Underwood-ally Terry Womack, the chair of the Congressional Black Caucus.

#### National teachers union protests

*Further information: 2013 American teachers union protests*

When a draft of the bill that included the provision was released to the public a month after the negotiations, Martin Spinella, the representative for the unions involved in the negotiations, confronted Underwood and threatened to initiate a national strike unless the provision was removed. Underwood agreed to remove the provision if performance standards were incorporated into the bill, which were ruled out in the negotiations a month earlier. Spinella refused, and Underwood's actions caused the largest nationwide teachers strikes in American history, which the Walker administration was blamed for. The protests lasted throughout May and into June 2013. Tens of thousands of public and private schools teachers across the United States, supported by their unions, walked off the job in opposition to the Walker administration's education policy.

    The strikes forced the temporary closure of thousands of schools over a staff shortage, and it left hundreds of thousands of students at home without daily education. Underwood worsened his public appearance when he appeared in a damaging debate with Spinella on national television. During the debate, Underwood had a major gaffe that was the subject of widespread media and social media mockery, and they labeled it as the "vowels gaffe." Underwood subsequently was ordered by Walker to withdraw the bill from consideration to end the strikes, but Underwood refused and assured him that the bill could still pass.

After Underwood staged an attack on his house and blamed it on a unionist, and when 9-year-old Tyler Davis was killed outside his house during a drive-by shooting when he was home due to his school's closure, he used increasing public opposition towards the strikes to his favor. Underwood was assaulted by Spinella after he provoked him into punching him, and he used the incident as an ultimatum to force Spinella to end the strikes or face felony charges for assault. The strikes subsequently ended on June 10, 2013, and students returned to school days before the start of the summer recess. Underwood secured passage of the Education Reform and Achievement Act in the House of Representatives days after the strikes ended, and the Senate passed the bill weeks later. Walker signed the bill into law shortly before Congress recessed for the summer break in August, with Underwood as one of the centerpieces of the signing ceremony.

#### Russo campaign and Matthews resignation

*Further information: 2013 Pennsylvania gubernatorial special election*

When Walker and his running mate, Pennsylvania governor Jim Matthews, won the 2012 presidential election, both resigned prior to the inauguration to focus on the transition. The lieutenant governor of Pennsylvania Nick Waltson succeeded Matthews, but the General Assembly voted in favor of holding a special election for a permanent occupier of the office and Waltson declined to run. Underwood, who served as a planning and recruiting member of the Democratic National Committee due to his position in congressional leadership, suggested U.S. Representative Peter Russo, who he previously used as his mouthpiece in derailing the nomination of Michael Kern, as the Democrats' favored candidate. Most other members objected due to Russo's history with drug and alcohol abuse and addiction, but Underwood successfully groomed him for a campaign that was announced in August 2013.

An early issue encountered during the campaign was Russo's lack of major accomplishment during his tenure in the House of Representatives, despite having served since 2007. Underwood and his wife Claire Underwood, the then-CEO of the Clean Water Initiative, aided Russo in writing the Delaware River Watershed Act of 2013 to jumpstart his campaign. The bill, which imposed new environmental regulations on the Delaware River and invested in renewable energy for new job creation, was also an attempt at rebuilding Russo's reputation after he oversaw the closure of a shipyard in Philadelphia which lost 12,000 local jobs and cost Russo significant political capital. The bill failed over a separate dispute between Underwood and his wife, and Russo lashed out at Underwood in blame before threatening to expose his involvement in the Williams Register leak during a heated phone call. The incident led Underwood to accelerate his plan to purposefully take down Russo's campaign.

Underwood met with his chief of staff Doug Stamper shortly after his phone call with Russo. He gave him $3,000 and instructed him to funnel it to prostitute Rachel Posner, who they were shielding, for her to intoxicate and seduce Russo to lure him back into relapse with the intention of destroying his campaign for governor. Underwood sent Russo to a fundraiser for cancer research where Posner was posing as an attendant. She successfully seduced and intoxicated him hours before a major radio interview with a Pennsylvania station. Russo was clearly drunk during the interview, slurring his words with little understanding of the questions being asked. The incident effectively ended his campaign. Underwood met with U.S. Vice President Jim Matthews hours after the interview, urging him to resign as vice president and run for his former position as governor of Pennsylvania. To convince him, Underwood exploited differences between him and U.S. President Garrett Walker. He subsequently met with Walker in an attempt to convince him to accept the proposal as well.

In the hours after the infamous radio interview, Russo fell into a deep relapse and continued to untangle. He turned himself into the Metropolitan Police in Washington, D.C., for again driving under the influence of alcohol. He was subsequently arrested for visibly appearing intoxicated and was held at a cell in the city. Underwood directed Stamper to again bribe police chief Barney Hull into releasing Russo, which he agreed to. Hull handed Russo off to Underwood in a back exit deal, and Underwood drove him in his car to his apartment in the city. Underwood pulled the car into Russo's apartment garage and waited for him to fall asleep before exiting the vehicle and closing the garage door, murdering Russo of carbon monoxide poisoning. Russo's body was discovered by law enforcement a day later, and his death was ruled a suicide.

Shortly before Russo's death was publicly announced, Walker and Matthews both agreed for the latter to run in Russo's place in the gubernatorial election and that Matthews would only resign as vice president if he won the race. After Russo's death was announced, they further solidified the plan. Ten days after Russo's apparent suicide, Matthews announced his candidacy in the election. The race, which was widely predicted to be a solid Republican victory, quickly turned in favor of the Democrats. Matthews won by a landslide and announced his subsequent resignation from federal office, vacating the vice presidency.

## Vice presidency (2013-2014)

### Nomination and inauguration

*Main articles: Frank Underwood Vice President nomination, Vice presidential inauguration of Frank Underwood*

*Further information: Killing of Zoe Barnes*

#### Proposal

Underwood and White House chief of staff Linda Vasquez oversaw a process to find a replacement vice president after U.S. Vice President Jim Matthews announced his candidacy for the special gubernatorial election. Underwood intentionally manipulated the shortlist with flawed and otherwise unserious candidates to irritate U.S. President Garrett Walker and provoke him to consider Underwood himself. Underwood was dispatched to St. Louis by Walker to observe billionaire industrialist Raymond Tusk, who he claimed to be considering for vice president. Underwood quickly grew opposed to the notion of nominating Tusk upon observing him, and he returned to Washington with the intention of lobbying Walker against the proposal. Upon returning, Underwood was informed that he was dispatched to St. Louis for Tusk, a longtime friend of Walker, to observe him, and that Underwood was the one being nominated for vice president.

#### Intermediary activities

Underwood accepted Walker's proposal for vice president on November 1, 2013, several days before the nomination was publicly announced. His symbiotic working relationship with journalist Zoe Barnes became sexual shortly before U.S. Representative Peter Russo announced his candidacy for governor, but both their professional and personal relationship deteriorated after she unearthed Underwood's involvement in covering up Russo's arrest and DUI, along with fellow journalists Janine Skorsky and Lucas Goodwin. Underwood was the subject of investigation by the three journalists following Russo's death; although it was labeled a suicide, they quickly presumed it to be foul play with Underwood's involvement due to the information they had discovered which revealed his role in covering up the DUI. Underwood met with Barnes on November 4, during which he admitted that he and Metropolitan Police chief Barney Hull covered up Russo's arrest and DUI, but claimed that he paid his bail to release him from jail. He also admitted to have sent Russo to meet Roy Kapeniak to orchestrate the Williams Register leak, but nothing further. Underwood subsequently demanded that Barnes delete their phone history, including texts and call logs, which he claimed was due to his vice president nomination.

Underwood met with Barnes again on November 5, his 54th birthday, after learning that she still had not deleted their shared phone history. The two met behind a fenced-off section of the platform at the Cathedral Heights Metro station. Underwood proposed to restart a professional relationship with Barnes to further her journalistic career if she deleted their phone history and his contact, which she did in front of him. Barnes subsequently asked Underwood for more details on Russo's death, after the police report she obtained did not match the information he provided to her. She also informed him that she was aware Rachel Posner, the prostitute connected to Russo's DUI, was with him the night he relapsed. After Barnes demanded to know if she was part of a murder, Underwood pretended to walk away from behind the fenced-off area and she followed. With her coming too close to uncovering his criminalities, Underwood grabbed Barnes and threw her in front of an oncoming train, killing her instantly. Underwood's deleted phone history with Barnes, and the black spot location he threw her from, led the death to be ruled as a suicide.

#### Confirmation and swearing-in

Underwood testified before the House and Senate Judiciary Committees in November 2013 while they were considering his nomination. Both committees unanimously voted to advance the nomination to their respective chambers. On December 16, the House of Representatives and Senate voted by near-unanimous margins to confirm him to the position. Underwood was subsequently inaugurated as the 49th vice president of the United States on December 18, 2013, in a private swearing-in ceremony at his house in Washington attended by staff and members of Congress.

### Whip's race

Underwood's ascension as vice president vacated the office of House Majority Whip and the third-ranking position in the House Democratic Caucus. He met with U.S. Representative Jackie Sharp prior to his inauguration and pushed her to enter the race as his preferred candidate, but she was skeptical due to her relatively recent election to Congress. U.S. Representatives Howard Webb and Wes Buchwalter, the two Democrats next in line for a leadership position, both entered the race. Webb and Buchwalter had a longstanding hostile relationship which caused the race to become extremely bitter and polarizing, which gained national attention. Underwood and congressional leadership intervened in the race by demanding the two candidates tone down the rhetoric, and he threatened that neither one would replace him if they refused.

Underwood and U.S. Representative Ted Havemeyer continued to push Sharp to enter the race, with the latter offering to fund her. Despite this, Underwood assured Buchwalter that he would support him, but he refused to publicly endorse because it would cause House speaker Bob Birch to endorse his favored candidate, which was Webb. In a private deal, Webb offered Buchwalter his chairmanship on the Appropriations Committee if he dropped out and endorsed him, leading Underwood with Sharp and Havemeyer to offer Havemeyer's chairmanship on the Ways and Means Committee, but Buchwalter refused. Underwood subsequently asked Sharp to leak that Havemeyer had an illegitimate daughter with disabilities, which she refused because of her close relationship to him. Sharp reversed course and informed Buchwalter of Havemeyer's scandal, which he leaked to the press hours before dropping out of the race and endorsing her. Sharp defeated Webb in the race with Underwood and Buchwalter's backing, and she succeeded him as House Majority Whip.

### Joint commission negotiations

*Further information: 24th U.S.-China joint commission*

The United States and China have engaged in annual joint commission talks on bilateral trade agreements since 1983. Billionaire industrialist Raymond Tusk, a longtime friend of U.S. President Garrett Walker who was influential in Underwood's nomination and had major ties to the China, lobbied Walker to take a more business-friendly policy directive towards the country which threatened Underwood's retribution scheme against the President. Underwood and his ally U.S. Secretary of State Catherine Durant interrupted a meeting between Walker and Tusk to discuss the upcoming 2013 joint commission. Tusk suggested limiting the commission's agenda to import tariffs on industrial manufactured goods and export quotas on rare earth elements, both of which impact his business relations personally, but Durant suggested a focus on Chinese government-sponsored corporate cyberattacks instead. Underwood sided with Tusk in front of Walker to appear as if not to be planning to undermine him, but Walker allowed Durant to use a soft touch in suggesting the commission be used to address cyberattacks.

Underwood privately met with Durant after the meeting and urged her to purposefully force the Chinese to address the rise in cyberattacks, despite Walker's demand for a soft touch, which she agreed to. The Chinese subsequently walked out of the joint commission while Walker was on an international trip, causing a foreign policy crisis. Underwood and Tusk lobbied Walker to recant on Durant's actions and publicly apologize, but Underwood later suggested that Walker show strength instead. In a press conference, Walker accepted Underwood's latter advice and claimed that Durant acted on his actions and that the Chinese were pursuing a "double-standard mentality" by refusing to discuss the cyberattacks. The standoff spiraled into a trade war between the U.S. and China when they refused to continue trade negotiations over Walker's allegations, which was Underwood's exact plan.

### Budget crisis and spending freeze

#### Senate negotiations

*Main article: Underwood Senate negotiations*

With the House of Representatives controlled by Democrats and the Senate controlled by Republicans, U.S. President Garrett Walker's agenda was very difficult to pass. Walker proposed an annual budget for fiscal year 2014 in an omnibus spending package, which Senate Republicans universally objected to unless it included entitlement and benefits reform. Underwood, as president of the Senate, represented the administration in negotiations with Senate Republicans. The administration took a hard position against the GOP proposal to raise the age of eligibility for retirement, but Underwood proposed a compromise deal to Senate Majority Leader Hector Mendoza to raise the retirement age to 67, which he agreed to if the Senate Democratic leadership also agreed.

Underwood proposed the compromise deal to Senate Minority Leader Willard Erickson and Senate Minority Whip Casey Giallo, which they originally objected to. After persuading them on the political conveniences of passing the proposal, they agreed if Mendoza guaranteed his assistance in supporting the measure. Despite Mendoza's support, other members of the Senate Republican Conference objected, particularly those affiliated with the Tea Party such as Curtis Haas. Underwood rejected Haas' proposal to raise the age of eligibility to 68 with the elimination of early retirement, but he agreed to raise it to 68 if early retirement was raised to 64. Underwood and Mendoza also secretly authored a provision of the Entitlement Reform Act as an amendment to the wider Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2014, using a parliamentary procedure to constitute passage of the amendment as passage of the entire package by previous agreement to overcome a potential filibuster. The amendment also included a supermajority point of order to prevent revisiting the issue for fifteen years.

Despite agreeing on Underwood's proposals, Mendoza and Senate Republicans backed out at the last minute after Haas withdrew his support. Walker expressed his strong disapproval with Underwood over the situation during a private meeting between the two, claiming that it threatened to impact his upcoming State of the Union address the next day. Underwood assured him that the proposal would pass, despite the vote being scheduled for the afternoon before the address.

#### ERA vote

*Main article: ERA vote*

    Underwood met with Mendoza on the morning ahead of the Senate's vote on the Entitlement Reform Act, where he was informed that the Republicans would vote down the amendment and consequently, the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2014, which would cause a federal spending freeze and subsequent government shutdown. Underwood and Senate Minority Whip Casey Giallo lobbied enough Republicans to vote in favor of or abstain from the vote, giving them a majority despite Mendoza's statement. Underwood subsequently convened a floor session of the Senate on the afternoon of January 28 to vote on the proposal. Senate Republicans delayed the quorum after learning of the depletion of their majority on the vote, but Underwood overruled their stall as presiding officer.

    After it became clear that a quorum would be present, all Senate Republicans except for Mendoza, Haas and Richard Mueller boycotted the session and left the chamber to quash the quorum. Underwood ordered the enforcement of a motion from Senate Minority Leader Willard Erickson which directed the Sergeant at Arms to arrest and compel the attendance of absent senators that were not sick or excused. All Senate Republicans were compelled to return to the floor proceeding where voting on amendment was ordered. Five Republicans joined all 45 Democrats in voting for the amendment, which brought the vote to 50-50. Underwood, as president of the Senate, broke the tie by voting in favor of the bill which passed it 51-50. Passage of the Entitlement Reform Act, and the consequent omnibus package to fund the government for the remainder of the fiscal year, was the centerpiece of the 2014 State of the Union address delivered by U.S. President Garrett Walker hours after the vote.

#### Government shutdown and House vote

*Further information: 2014 United States federal government shutdown, 2014 bioterrorism scare at the United States Capitol*

    In September 2013, after Congress failed to pass the Walker administration's proposed Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2014 by the end of the fiscal year, a continuing resolution was passed to fund the government through November. A second resolution was passed funding the government through midnight on January 29, 2014, three hours after the 2014 State of the Union address. The House of Representatives passed the omnibus package as written, but as the Senate amended it to include the Entitlement Reform Act on January 28, the bill had to go back to the House for final approval. Since the House could not pass the bill in time, the government shutdown at midnight on January 29. House speaker Bob Birch originally opposed the Senate bill and did not schedule a House vote on it until February 13, but he later came out in public support of it after U.S. President Garrett Walker did so.

Underwood met with U.S. Representative Donald Blythe, who was leading a coalition of progressive Democrats in opposition to the bill to reopen the government, on February 13 at the United States Capitol hours before the vote. During their meeting, the Capitol went into quarantine and was evacuated due to a bioterrorism scare. The incident locked Underwood and Blythe in the same room for several hours, giving him more time to lobby him in favor of the bill, but he still refused. House Majority Whip Jackie Sharp subsequently managed to lobby several members of his coalition to vote in favor of the bill, and it passed the House of Representatives that night. Walker signed it into law hours later, and the government reopened.

#### Spotsylvania opening

After the sparking of a trade war between the U.S. and China over the failure of the joint commission talks, U.S. Secretary of State Catherine Durant hosted a bilateral summit in Washington in May 2014 to smooth relations. During the summit, U.S. President Garrett Walker sent Underwood to Spotsylvania, Virginia, to secretly back-channel with Chinese businessman Xander Feng, a partner of Raymond Tusk, to secure international infrastructure agreements beneficial to both the Walker administration and Tusk's business. The back-channeling took place amid a Civil War reenactment to commemorate the 150th anniversary of the Overland Campaign, so not to draw speculation to Underwood's unusual travel there.

#### Chinese back-channeling

Underwood back-channeled a proposed trade agreement specifically between the Walker administration and Feng's co-ventures with Tusk in China. The first agreement included a lease of a rare earth elements refinery to Clayton West, of which Tusk was CEO. The second was construction of a bridge over the Long Island Sound from Port Jefferson to Milford in exchange for a 25-year toll-taking contract for Feng's business. The proposal for the Port Jefferson bridge was the centerpiece of the back-channeling negotiations to ensure enactment of Walker's proposals for infrastructure development and foreign investment to reduce the federal budget deficit. Feng refused to authorize the bridge unless the U.S. continued its currency manipulation lawsuit against China in the World Trade Organization, despite plans to drop it, as Feng's business personally profited from free-floating currency.

Underwood subsequently informed Durant that China refused to negotiate the bridge unless the U.S. dropped the WTO lawsuit, opposite of Feng's request, in order to sabotage the formal summit and further worsen relations with China. Durant dropped the lawsuit, but Feng demanded it be reintroduced until the Port Jefferson bridge would be brough back to the table for negotiation. Walker kept Underwood dispatched in Spotsylvania but ordered him to stop back-channeling until the bridge project was revived. Underwood defied Walker's order and met with Feng again, during which his rhetoric led Feng to permanently kill the bridge deal. Underwood falsely claimed to Walker that he had not contacted Feng again after the White House was informed that the bridge deal was off the table, and he urged him to withdraw from the Washington summit after attempting to convince him that it was China who was not being forthright. Walker agreed and ended the summit, which worsened U.S. and China relations and escalated their ongoing trade war, exactly according to Underwood's plan.

Underwood presided over the closing ceremonies for the Spotsylvania Civil War reenactment on May 7, officially ending the commemoration without public knowledge of the back-channeling that occurred there.