The following is atimeline of thepresidency of George W. Bush, from January 1, 2002 to December 31, 2002.

• January 8 – President Bush signs theNo Child Left Behind Act into law.
• January 11 – President Bush signs theSmall Business Liability Relief and Brownfields Revitalization Act into law,Guantanamo Bay detention camp is established.
• January 13 – President Bush chokes on a pretzel and faints.^[1]
• January 22 – President Bush promotes his proposed Economic Security Package during a speech inCharleston, West Virginia.^[2]
• January 29 – President Bush delivers his annualState of the Union Address before ajoint session of Congress.^[3] During the address, the president pointedly accuses three countries—Iran,Iraq, andNorth Korea—ofsponsoring terrorism and attempting to amassweapons of mass destruction, activities that threaten the peace of the world, and declares that nations like these three constitute anaxis of evil.^[4][5]
• January 31 – President Bush travels toDaytona Beach, Florida, where he promotes the federal government'sSenior Corps program.^[6]

• February 4 – President Bush presents Congress with a wartime budget of $2.1 trillion, which sees a return todeficit spending by the federal government.^[7]
• February 7 – President Bush signs the "Humane Treatment ofTaliban andal Qaeda Detainees" memorandum, reversing American's commitments to parts of theGeneva Convention.^[8]
• February 8 - President Bush declared open the2002 Winter Olympics inSalt Lake City, Utah.
• February 13 – President Bush meets withPresident of PakistanPervez Musharraf.^[9]
• February 14 – President Bush reveals tax credits among a number of other incentives designed to encourage business and farmers to decrease harmful emissions.^[10]
• February 15 – President Bush endorses theDepartment of Energy's recommendation that an underground facility be constructed atYucca Mountain inNevada for use as arepository for up to 77,000metric tons ofspent nuclear fuel and otherhigh level radioactive waste.^[11]
• February 16–22 – President Bush makes the sixth international trip of his presidency.^[12]
  • February 16–19 – InTokyo, Japan, the president meets withPrime MinisterJunichiro Koizumi andEmperorAkihito. He also addresses theJapanese Diet.
  • February 19–21 – InSeoul, South Korea, the president meets withPresidentKim Dae-jung. He also visitsDorasan, near theKorean Demilitarized Zone, and addresses U.S. military personnel atOsan Air Base.
  • February 21–22 – InBeijing, China, the president meets withPresidentJiang Zemin andPremierZhu Rongji.

• March 4 – During an appearance inMinnesota, the president offers condolences to the families of the eight soldiers killed duringOperation Anaconda inAfghanistan, and vows that the U.S. will continue to pursue Al Qaeda.^[13]
• March 5 – President Bush announces thattariffs of 8% to 30% will be placed on several types of imported steel in an effort to support the faltering U.S. steel industry.^[14]
• March 9 – President Bush signs theJob Creation and Worker Assistance Act of 2002 into law.
• March 11 – In marking the six month anniversary of theSeptember 11 attacks, the president pledges that America would not forget the lives lost nor the justice needed in response.^[15]
• March 13 – President Bush in a press conference at theWhite House, when asked aboutOsama bin Laden, Bush replied "I truly am not that concerned about him. I know he is on the run. I was concerned about him, when he had taken over a country. I was concerned about the fact that he was basically running Afghanistan and calling the shots for the Taliban". and "Terror is bigger than one person. And he's a person who's now been marginalized. His network, his host government has been destroyed. He's the ultimate parasite who found weakness, exploited it, and met his match. He is as I mentioned in my speech, I do mention the fact that this is a fellow who is willing to commit youngsters to their death and he, himself, tries to hide if, in fact, he's hiding at all".^[16]
• March 20 –White House Press SecretaryAri Fleischer announces that the Bush administration will not certify North Korea's compliance with a1994 deal that froze its nuclear weapons program.^[17]
• March 22 – The Bush administration announces that tariffs averaging 29% will be placed on Canadian softwood lumber imports in an effort to protect U.S. lumber jobs from subsidized Canadian imports.^[18]
• March 21–24 – President Bush makes the seventh international trip of his presidency.^[12] During his weekly radio address, the president states that he is visitingMexico,Peru andEl Salvador to validate "the central importance" he places onAmerica's relationships with the various nations in hemisphere.^[19]
  • March 21–22 – President Bush attends theU.N. International Conference on Financing for Development inMonterrey, Mexico. He also meets withMexican PresidentVicente Fox to discuss mutual security concerns regarding traffic on cross-border rail lines and at major ports of entry along theMexico–United States border.
  • March 23–24 – InLima, Peru, the president meets with the presidents ofPeru,Colombia, andBolivia, and with thevice president of Ecuador.
  • March 24 – President Bush attends a summit meeting of presidents of the severalCentral American Integration System countries to discuss the creation of afree trade area similar toNAFTA.
• March 26 – President Bush announcesElias Zerhouni andRichard Carmona as his choices forNational Institute of Health Director and U.S.Surgeon General in anEast Room ceremony.^[20]
• March 27 – President Bush signs theBipartisan Campaign Reform Act into law.^[21]
• March 28 – During an appearance at a campaign fundraiser forJohn Cornyn, President Bush says he is working to eliminate the chance of terrorist organizations aligning with "some of the world's worst leaders who harbor and develop some of the world's worst weapons."^[22]
• March 30 – President Bush addresses the crisis in theMiddle East from his ranch asIsraeli troops advance toward the compound of Palestinian leaderYasser Arafat and after a suicide bombing inTel Aviv.^[23]
• March 30 – President Bush issues a brief statement of condolence following the death of Britain'sQueen Elizabeth The Queen Mother.^[24]

• April 10 – Declaring that "advances inbiomedical technology must never come at the expense of human conscience," the president urges the Senate to concur with a House bill prohibitinghuman cloning for either research or reproduction, while delivering remarks in the East Room.^[25]
• April 17 – Speaking before cadets at theVirginia Military Institute inLexington, Virginia, the president vows the keep the U.S. engaged in Afghanistan "until the mission is done," calling for a plan he equated tothe plan devised by GeneralGeorge C. Marshall for Europe at the close ofWorld War II.^[26]
• April 19 – While talking to reporters in the Oval Office, President Bush toutsSecretary of StateColin Powell's diplomacy in the Middle East as having forged a "path to achieve peace".^[27]
• April 20–25 – President Bush holds a bilateral meeting with the Prime Minister ofBulgariaSimeon Saxe-Coburg-Gotha.^[28]
• April 20 – President Bush requests Arab nations combat their own forms of terrorism within their respective regions in his weekly radio address.^[29]
• April 22 – President Bush gives anEarth Day speech in theAdirondack Mountains inNew York, noting his "Clear Skies Initiative".^[30]
• April 23 –White House CounselorKaren Hughes announces her plans to resign during the summer; she has worked for George W. Bush since 1994.^[31]
• April 24 – President Bush attends the Lake Area Corn Processors ethanol plant grand opening nearWentworth, South Dakota.
• April 25 – President Bush meets withSaudi Arabian princeAbdullah at his Texas ranch for a two-hour talk, during which Abdullah warns Bush against losing stability within the Middle East by not doing more in an attempt to stopAriel Sharon's strategy against thePalestinians.^[32]

• May 10 – President Bush requests both parties come together in Congress to help reauthorize awelfare reform bill first passed in 1996.^[33]
• May 13 – President Bush signs theFarm Security and Rural Investment Act of 2002, a 10-year, $190 billionfarm bill increasing the federalsubsidy paid to farmers by at least $83 billion over the next decade.^[34][35]
• May 16 – Congress presses the Bush White House for additional information on the variousintelligence warnings that al-Qaeda was planning a major attack somewhere on U.S. territory.National Security AdvisorCondoleezza Rice tells reporters, "I don’t think that anybody could have predicted that these people would take an airplane and slam it into the World Trade Center, take another one and slam it into the Pentagon." She insists that there was no lapse in intelligence.^[4]
• May 18 – President Bush requests a reform in theMedicare program during his weekly Saturday radio address, citing the costs being too high and the choices seniors need not being provided.^[36]

• May 22–28 – President Bush makes the eighth international trip of his presidency.^[12] Speaking from the White House lawn before his departure, the president says the U.S. and European allies must continue battling terror and be strong.^[37]
  • May 22–23 – InBerlin, Germany, the president meets withChancellorGerhard Schröder, and addresses theBundestag.
  • May 23–26 – The president travels toMoscow andSt. Petersburg, Russia for a summit meeting with Russian PresidentVladimir Putin. The two leaders sign theStrategic Offensive Reductions Treaty, an agreement to reduce the nuclear arsenal of each country to a warhead count of between 1,700 and 2,200.^[38]
  • May 26–27, 2002 – The president travels toParis, France, where he meets withFrench PresidentJacques Chirac. He also visitsSainte-Mère-Église, andColleville, where he delivers aMemorial Day address at theNormandy American Cemetery and Memorial.
  • May 27–28 – InRome, Italy, the president meets with Italy'sPresidentCarlo Azeglio Ciampi andPrime MinisterSilvio Berlusconi, attends theNATO Summit Meeting and inaugurates theNATO-Russia Council.
  • May 28 – The president travels to theApostolic Palace inVatican City for an audience withPopeJohn Paul II, during which they discuss thesex-abuse scandal in the American Roman Catholic priesthood, among other issues.^[39]

• June 1 – President Bush delivers an address at theUnited States Military Academy inWest Point, New York.^[40]
• June 3 – During an appearance inLittle Rock, Arkansas, the president acknowledges the criticism of the nation's top law enforcement and intelligence agencies for failing to prevent the September 11 attacks, saying theFBI is "doing a better job" and is sharing intelligence information with theCIA.^[41]
• June 4 – While speaking to reporters during a tour of theNational Security Agency, the president says there is no evidence of the U.S. government being able to prevent the 9/11 strikes.^[42]
• June 6 – President Bush calls on Congress to make broad changes to security departments in charge of protecting the nation from terrorism, by creating a single Cabinet-level homeland defense agency to coordinate a wide range of functions and oversee more than 100 organizations.^[4][43]
• June 8 – President Bush equates the establishment of theDepartment of Homeland Security to the creation of theDefense Department andNational Security Council under PresidentHarry Truman during theCold War.^[44]
• June 9 – President Bush designatesJosé Padilla as anenemy combatant, ending Padilla's tenure as amaterial witness.
• June 17 – President Bush announces his "aggressive housing agenda" while speaking atSt. Paul AME Church inAtlanta, Georgia. His goal is to boost minority home ownership to 5.5 million prior to the end of the decade by dismantling thebarriers to homeownership. The president also challenged the real estate and mortgage finance industries to join in his effort.^[45][46]
• June 19 – President Bush pledges $500 million in U.S. support over the next few years for worldwide efforts to combat theAIDS virus during aRose Garden appearance.^[47]
• June 24 – President Bush urges the Palestinian people to replaceYasser Arafat, head of thePalestinian Authority, stating that "when the Palestinians have new leaders, institutions and security arrangements, the U.S. will support the creation of a Palestinian state."^[4][48]
• June 25–27 – President Bush makes the ninth international trip of his presidency, travelling toKananaskis, Alberta, Canada, where he attends the28th G8 summit.^[12]
• June 29 – President Bush undergoes acolonoscopy atBethesda Naval Hospital. Vice President Cheney serves asacting president for approximately two hours, under section 3 of the25th Amendment.^[49]

• July 3 – President Bush issues an executive order speeding up citizenship proceedings for non-citizens who have been serving in the U.S. military since the September 11 attacks.^[50]
• July 9 – Several blocks away from theNew York Stock Exchange andGround Zero, President Bush delivers a speech to a business group, indicating that an investigation into corporate wrongdoing should take place for the sake of both the US's economy and financial systems.^[51]
• July 10 – In a defense of the Homeland Security Department, President Bush calls it bipartisan and "an American idea that makes sense for all Americans."^[52]
• July 11 – In an appearance before the House Select Homeland Security Committee, Secretary of State Colin Powell,Secretary of DefenseDonald Rumsfeld,Secretary of TreasuryPaul O'Neill andAttorney GeneralJohn Ashcroft confirm their support for the formation of the Homeland Security Department.^[53]
• July 16 – President Bush outlines a homeland security national strategy that includes standards on state driver licenses and detecting chemical, biological and nuclear weapons with the use of technology. Tom Ridge, the incumbent Homeland Security Director, touts the proposal as "the best way to protect America."^[54]
• July 17 – President Bush reports Vice President Cheney as doing "a heck of a good job" while defending Cheney in his first public comments on the ongoing investigation into Cheney's former companyHalliburton Corp, saying the inquiry will "run its course."^[55]
• July 19 – President Bush meets with soldiers and their families and speaks with the still in Afghanistan 10th Mountain Division through satellite. Bush calls on the Senate to approve his request for a funding of the U.S. military, the largest since theRonald Reagan presidency.^[56]
• July 20 – President Bush requests Congress hasten passing a corporate ethical standard enforcing bill and other areas such as forcing a fiscal restraint to avoid adding to the deficit so much that it will not be paid in the decades to come.^[57]
• July 21 – President Bush announcesPresidential Medal of Freedom recipients.
• July 22 – President Bush travels to theArgonne National Laboratory and speaks with employees about the value of new technology to national security and the Homeland Security Department.^[58]
• July 24 – President Bush formally approvesYucca Mountain as the high levelnuclear waste dump of the US.^[59]
• July 31 – The White House reports President Bush as having opposedHarken Energy Corporation establishing an oversea subsidiary in theCayman Islands when he was on the board of directors. Bush repeated the claim when asked about the subsidiary.^[60]

• August 1 – Bush expresses outrage over the deaths of five Americans killed during aHebrew University terrorist bombing, but maintains peace in the Middle East is attainable.^[61]
• August 2 – The White House announces Bush's attendance on the upcoming first anniversary of the September 11 attacks.^[62]
• August 5 – Bush administration officials confirm Bush attended a meeting with top advisors where GeneralTommy Franks detailed the status of a possible attack on Iraq.^[63]
• August 8 – The Bush administration responds to a defiant speech on the part ofSaddam Hussein, who boasted a US attack on Iraq would be doomed, with an aide saying, "The regime inBaghdad knows what it has to do. It must live up to its obligations to disarm that it agreed to in 1991."^[64]
• August 10 – Bush announces he will meet with American workers during the following week to evaluate the US's economic situation.^[65]
• August 13 – Bush speaks at an economic forum with the purpose of reassuring Americans of his attentiveness to the economy, him confidently stating the economy is recovering.^[66]
• August 14 – Bush calls on Congress to prevent spending and swears he will preserve the fiscal health of the US during an appearance at theIowa State Fair.^[67]
• August 15 – Bush asserts the homeland security bill in the Senate as leaving his administration with its "hands tied" during aMount Rushmore,South Dakota speech.^[68]
• August 16 – Bush says he will use the newest technology to come to a conclusion on how to resolve the Saddam Hussein situation while speaking to reporters.^[69]
• August 22 – Bush announces a plan to permit logging in national forests, which he said would prevent wildfire threats.^[70]
• August 24 – Bush calls on Congress to pass his Homeland Security plan when members return from their recess.^[71]
• August 30 – Bush gives praise for both theMajor League Baseball players and owners for working out an agreement to avoid astrike.^[72]
• August 31 – Bush requests Americans become involved in community service and make the following month one of service.^[73]

• September 9 – InDetroit, Michigan, Bush meets withPrime Minister of CanadaJean Chrétien.^[74]
• September 11 – On the anniversary of the September 11 attacks, Bush delivers a speech reflecting on how those affected by the incident had been since it occurred.^[75]
• September 12 – President Bush urges theUnited Nations to compel Iraq to agree with the weapons of mass destruction directives made by theSecurity Council.^[76]
• September 13 –Minister of Foreign AffairsNaji Sabri calls Bush's speech from the previous day "a lot of anti-Iraq propaganda" devoid of proof that Iraq harbored weapons of mass destruction.^[77]
• September 14 – In his weekly address, Bush requests the U.N. boost their efforts to handle Saddam Hussein's continued disregard for the resolutions of the United Nations.^[78]
• September 16 – President Bush delivers an economic address at Sears Manufacturing inDavenport, Iowa during the morning.^[79] President Bush gives an endorsement ofJim Nussle in his congressional campaign in a speech at the Mississippi Valley Fairgrounds inDavenport, Iowa during the afternoon.^[80]
• September 17 – President Bush unveils the We the People, Our Documents, and White House forum initiatives in the Rose Garden during the morning.^[81]
• September 18 – President Bush meets with congressional leaders for discussions on Iraq and domestic policies in the Oval Office during the morning.^[82]
• September 20 – A report by the Bush administration is released outlining preemptive and aggressive action against both known terrorist groups and hostile states in a change in the national security of the US.^[83]
• September 27 – President Bush gives a speech supporting the Defense Appropriations Bill and Congress taking action on it at the Adam's Mark Hotel inDenver, Colorado during the morning.^[84]
• September 28 – President Bush delivers an address favorable of a homeland security bill at the Phoenix Civic Plaza inPhoenix, Arizona during the afternoon.^[85]
• September 30 – President Bush issues a statement on the death ofPatsy Mink.^[86] President Bush announces his intent to nominate Phillip Merrill for President of theExport-Import Bank of the United States and appoint Fidel Alfonso Vargas of California for Member of the Commission on Presidential Scholars.^[87]

• October 7 – In a speech delivered inCincinnati, Ohio, Bush explains his disagreements with Saddam Hussein's regime and advocated for the disarming ofIraqi forces.^[88]
• October 9 – A federal judge orders a temporary restraining order to resolve a labor dispute between the US and Asia which cost the US$2 billion a day.^[89]
• October 11 – The Senateapproves a resolution authorizing President Bush to use military force in Iraq in the event that Saddam Hussein declines to turn over weapons of mass destruction as per the requirements of resolutions crafted by the United Nations in a 77–23 vote.^[90]
• October 12 – Bush calls on Congress to pass a terrorism insurance bill during his weekly radio address.^[91]
• October 14 – Bush comments on theweekend attacks inIndonesia, linking them to theattack on US Marines inKuwait and aFrench tanker offYemen.^[92]
• October 16 – Bush signs a resolution approved by Congress allowing him to go to war with Iraq.^[93]
• October 19 – Bush offers sympathies to Australians after the past weekend's Bali nightclub bombings, declaring the US andAustralia will collaborate against terrorism.^[94]
• October 31 – President Bush delivers a speech at the Barnett Center of theNorthern State University inAberdeen, South Dakota during the morning.^[95] President Bush gives an address at theSouth Bend Regional Airport inSouth Bend, Indiana during the afternoon.^[96] President Bush issues a proclamation declaring November 2002 as NationalAlzheimer's Disease Awareness Month.^[97]

• November 2 – Bush begins a 10-day campaign tour to aid Republicans in keeping their positions in Congress as well as helping his brotherJeb Bush remainGovernor of Florida.^[98]
• November 4 – Bush endorsesJim Talent in his senatorial bid.^[99]
• November 15 – Bush administration officials say President Bush can nominateTom Ridge to head the Homeland Security department at earliest the following week.^[100]
• November 19 – Bush leaves Washington forPrague ahead of a scheduled meeting with leaders ofNATO and partnering countries.^[101]
• November 20 – Bush andPresident of the Czech RepublicVáclav Havel hold a joint news conference, where Bush says the US will lead a "coalition of the willing" if Hussein continues refusing to disarm.^[102]
• November 25 – United States Department of Homeland Security is established.
• November 28 – Bush releases a statement on theKenya attacks, condemning them "in the strongest possible terms" and offering condolences to the families of victims.^[103]
• November 29 – President Bush cuts civilian federal employee pay raises and cites the war on terrorism as being threatened by them being bestowed the full pay hike.^[104]
• November 30 – Bush calls on Americans to be inspired by theThanksgiving holiday and become serviceable to "those in need."^[105]

• December 4 – TheNew York Times discloses the Bush administration as having restored the allocation of bonuses in money for roughly 2,000 politically appointed federal workers, reversing a policy from the administration ofBill Clinton.^[106]
• December 5 – First Lady Laura Bush unveils the Christmas decorations at the White House for the second time.^[107][108]
• December 6 – Treasury Secretary Paul O'Neill and economic advisorLawrence B. Lindsey resign per request by the White House.^[109]
• December 9 – Officials of the Bush administration confirmJohn W. Snow as the president's choice to replace O'Neill as Treasury Secretary.^[110]
• December 10 – Bush introducesWilliam Donaldson as his choice for chairman of theSecurities and Exchange Commission.^[111]
• December 11 – Bush issues an executive order, creating the nine-member President's Commission on the Postal Service.
• December 12 – Bush rebukes comments bySenate Majority LeaderTrent Lott while speaking inPhiladelphia.^[112]
• December 13 – Bush announces his intent for thesmallpox inoculation of 500,000 military personnel on the frontline.^[113]
• December 16 – The White House announcesJoe Allbaugh will resign asFederal Emergency Management Agency Director.^[114]
• December 17 – Bush reveals plans to begin the first phase of a system meant to protect the US from ballistic missile attack within two years.^[115] The White House announces Nick Calio will step down as President Bush's representative on Capital Hill the following month.^[116]
• December 20 – Bush responds to the Iraqi arms declaration from the previous day, calling it "a disappointing day for those who long for peace."^[117]
• December 21 – Bush receives a smallpox vaccine along with 500,000 ordered to receive the same treatment, White House Jeanie Mamo reporting him as being "fine."^[118]
• December 22 – The White House updates Bush as feeling "great" in relation to his vaccine.^[119]
• December 24 – OnChristmas Eve, President Bush calls members of the military to thank them for their service.^[120]
• December 28 – In his radio address, Bush declares 2002 a successful year for America, citing a growing economy and continued battling of terrorism both domestic and abroad.
• December 30 – The lawsuit against Bush for his withdrawal from the 1972Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty brought upon him by 32 Congress members is dismissed by a federal judge.^[121]

• Miller Center G.W. Bush Presidential Timeline

• Timeline of the George W. Bush presidency, for an index of the Bush presidency timeline articles

• 2002 in the United States
• Timelines of the George W. Bush presidency
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