Mikhail Gorbachev came to power in the Soviet Union in 1985; less ideologically rigid than his predecessors, Gorbachev believed that the Soviet Union urgently needed economic and political reforms.
At the 1987 Washington Summit, Gorbachev and Reagan signed the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty, which committed both signatories to the total abolition of their respective short-range and medium-range missile stockpiles.
The treaty marked the beginning of a new era of trade, openness, and cooperation between the two powers.
Though President Reagan and Secretary of State George Shultz took the lead in these negotiations, Bush sat in on many meetings and promised Gorbachev that he would seek to continue improving Soviet-U.S. relations if he succeeded Reagan.
On July 13, 1985, Bush became the first vice president to serve as acting president when Reagan underwent surgery to remove polyps from his colon; Bush served as the acting president for approximately eight hours.

In 1986, the Reagan administration was shaken by a scandal when it was revealed that administration officials had secretly arranged weapon sales to Iran during the Iran–Iraq War.
The officials had used the proceeds to fund the anti-communist Contras in Nicaragua, which was a direct violation of law.
When news of affair broke to the media, Bush, like Reagan, stated that he had been "out of the loop" and unaware of the diversion of funds, although this has assertion has since been challenged.
Biographer Jon Meacham writes that "no evidence was ever produced proving Bush was aware of the diversion to the contras," but he criticizes Bush's "out of the loop" characterization, writing that the "record is clear that Bush was aware that the United States, in contravention of its own stated policy, was trading arms for hostages".
The Iran–Contra scandal, as it became known, did serious damage to the Reagan presidency, raising questions about Reagan's competency.
Congress established the Tower Commission to investigate the scandal, and, at Reagan's request, a panel of federal judges appointed Lawrence Walsh as a special prosecutor charged with investigating the Iran–Contra scandal.
The investigations continued after Reagan left office and, though Bush was never charged with a crime, the Iran–Contra scandal would remain a political liability for him.
Mikhail Gorbachev came to power in the Soviet Union in 1985; less ideologically rigid than his predecessors, Gorbachev believed that the Soviet Union urgently needed economic and political reforms. At the 1987 Washington Summit, Gorbachev and Reagan signed the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty, which committed both signatories to the total abolition of their respective short-range and medium-range missile stockpiles. The treaty marked the beginning of a new era of trade, openness, and cooperation between the two powers. Though President Reagan and Secretary of State George Shultz took the lead in these negotiations, Bush sat in on many meetings and promised Gorbachev that he would seek to continue improving Soviet-U.S. relations if he succeeded Reagan. On July 13, 1985, Bush became the first vice president to serve as acting president when Reagan underwent surgery to remove polyps from his colon; Bush served as the acting president for approximately eight hours.
In 1986, the Reagan administration was shaken by a scandal when it was revealed that administration officials had secretly arranged weapon sales to Iran during the Iran–Iraq War. The officials had used the proceeds to fund the anti-communist Contras in Nicaragua, which was a direct violation of law. When news of affair broke to the media, Bush, like Reagan, stated that he had been "out of the loop" and unaware of the diversion of funds, although this has assertion has since been challenged. Biographer Jon Meacham writes that "no evidence was ever produced proving Bush was aware of the diversion to the contras," but he criticizes Bush's "out of the loop" characterization, writing that the "record is clear that Bush was aware that the United States, in contravention of its own stated policy, was trading arms for hostages". The Iran–Contra scandal, as it became known, did serious damage to the Reagan presidency, raising questions about Reagan's competency. Congress established the Tower Commission to investigate the scandal, and, at Reagan's request, a panel of federal judges appointed Lawrence Walsh as a special prosecutor charged with investigating the Iran–Contra scandal. The investigations continued after Reagan left office and, though Bush was never charged with a crime, the Iran–Contra scandal would remain a political liability for him.
George H. W. Bush