Why was the harding administration plagued by scandal?

Answer 1

As is often the case with a new president, after Harding was inaugurated, he appointed political supporters to high level positions in his cabinet. This turned out to be a huge mistake because many of these friends and supporters turned out to be hideously corrupt. They made themselves rich at taxpayer expense, accepted bribes in quid pro quocrimes, and generally flagrantly broke the law. The stress of trying to reign in his corrupt officials and trying to get reelected apparently strained Harding so much that he got sick and died.