Presidency of Josh Hawley

The Presidency of Josh Hawley began on January 20th, 2053 after defeating President Stacy Abrams for reelection and ended on January 20th, 2061 when Maxwell A. Frost was inaugurated as President.

One of the main struggles of Hawley's presidency was keeping the "Return to Normalcy" promise. Russia was a huge threat after once again becoming communist which ignited a red scare among the people, pirates in the Caribbean were attacking US ships and were using Jamaica as a home base, and the war on drugs in Columbia was still a large part of foreign policy. Not to mention the slow economy and high inflation. Hawley would declare a 'War on Piracy' in response to the attack on the *USS Tampa* in May of 2053. Hawley would send a US naval fleet that would combat against pirates. One battle ended with the pirates retreating towards Cuba. The second the US navy were involved the pirates became hopeless. Because the piracy in the Caribbean continued and the pirates were using Jamaica as a safe-base, Hawley decided to create a blockade in Jamaica until the Jamaican government handed over the pirates. The pirates would attempt to break the blockade but after failing, Jamaica's president would issue a proclamation that would not allow any US ships to arrive. Hawley would issue some ships to return to 'prepare the US for war' and a committee came to the conclusion that the pirates were helping fund Jamaica's government. After the sinking of the *USS Crimson*, the US declared war on Jamaica that would last one month. Pirates would be arrested and the Jamaica government would be replaced. US troops would stay in Jamaica about two months after the war was over.

Hawley would take down two drug cartels hiding in Cuba and would negotiate a treaty that Columbia would have to declare a war against drug cartels. The countries of Mexico, the Untied States, Brazil, Great Britain, and Panama would assist Columbia in it's crusade against drug cartels. Hawley would continue the war on Drugs but it would mainly be countries such as Mexico turning against the cartels. In 2060, the War on Drugs would officially end, lasting almost 100 years. Hawley would take down drug cartels in the west and east coast as well.

In 2056, Josh Hawley decided to run for re-election. His chief opponent was 80 year old former Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro. Hawley easily defeated Shapiro despite the ho-hum economy that he promised would be a key promise in his second term. In 2057, Hawley would pass major economic legislation and slightly cut taxes. In his second term he would have one of the best economic performances in history. Hawley would have to deal with the *Puerto Rican Raiders*, a group of pirates inspired by the Jamaicans in 2058 that would lead to Puerto Rico gaining statehood and the pirates being crushed. In 2059, Russia's communist ambitions ended in the Second Russian Revolution that would end a Red Scare among the American public. As crime rate eased, Hawley's popularity skyrocketed and Republicans decided to nominate West Virginia Senator Andrew Borough for President as a continuation of Hawley's policies. However, he would lose to Florida Governor Maxwell Frost in the Presidential election of 2060.