The United States Environmental Protection Agency began operation after Nixon was impeached.
Richard Milhous Nixon ( January 9 , 1913 -- April 22 , 1994 ) was an American politician who served as the 37th President of the United States from 1969 until 1974 , when he became the only U.S. president to resign from office . He was reelected in one of the largest electoral landslides in U.S. history in 1972 , when he defeated George McGovern . The scandal escalated , costing Nixon much of his political support , and on August 9 , 1974 , he resigned in the face of almost certain impeachment and removal from office . After his resignation , he was issued a pardon by his successor , Gerald Ford . United States Environmental Protection Agency . President Richard Nixon proposed the establishment of EPA and it began operation on December 2 , 1970 , after Nixon signed an executive order .