117 Facts About Obama administration

Obama administration was succeeded by Republican Donald Trump, who won the 2016 presidential election.

Obama administration was the first African American president, the first multiracial president, the first non-white president, and the first president born in Hawaii.

Obama administration presided over the implementation of the Affordable Care Act and other legislation passed in his first term, and he negotiated a nuclear agreement with Iran and normalized relations with Cuba.

Republicans took control of the Senate after the 2014 elections, and Obama administration continued to grapple with congressional Republicans over government spending, immigration, judicial nominations, and other issues.

Obama administration delivered his inaugural address immediately following his oath.

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Three Cabinet-level officers did not require confirmation: Vice President Joe Biden, who Obama had chosen as his running mate at the 2008 Democratic National Convention, Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel, and Defense Secretary Robert Gates, who Obama chose to retain from the previous administration.

Obama administration described his Cabinet choices as a "team of rivals, " and Obama administration chose several prominent public officials for Cabinet positions, including defeated rival Hillary Clinton as Secretary of State.

In March 2016, Obama nominated Chief Judge Merrick Garland of the D C Circuit to fill Scalia's seat.

Obama administration's presidency saw the continuation of battles between both parties over the confirmation of judicial nominees.

Obama administration issued an executive order placing tighter restrictions on lobbying in the White House, and rescinded the Mexico City Policy, which banned federal grants to international groups that provide abortion services or counseling.

On January 29, Obama administration signed a bill for the first time in his presidency; the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act of 2009 revised the statute of limitations for filing pay discrimination lawsuits.

Obama administration stated that, like Bush, he would employ signing statements if he deems a portion of a bill to be unconstitutional, and he subsequently issued several signing statements.

In contrast to Bill Clinton's 1993 plan to reform health care, Obama administration adopted a strategy of letting Congress drive the process, with the House and Senate writing their own bills.

In March 2010, after Obama administration announced an executive order reinforcing the current law against spending federal funds for elective abortion services, the House passed the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act.

Many liberals continued to push for a single-payer healthcare system or a public option, and Obama administration endorsed the latter proposal, as well as an expansion of health insurance tax credits, in 2016.

Obama administration called for further Wall Street reform after the passage of Dodd-Frank, saying that banks should have a smaller role in the economy and less incentive to make risky trades.

Obama administration signed the Credit CARD Act of 2009, which created new rules for credit card companies.

Obama administration took several steps to combat global warming, but was unable to pass a major bill addressing the issue, in part because many Republicans and some Democrats questioned whether global warming is occurring and whether human activity contributes to it.

In 2013, Obama administration announced that he would bypass Congress by ordering the EPA to implement new carbon emissions limits.

Obama administration imposed regulations on soot, sulfur, and mercury that encouraged a transition away from coal as an energy source, but the falling price of wind, solar, and natural gas energy sources contributed to coal's decline.

Obama administration encouraged this successful transition away from coal in large part due to the fact that coal emits more carbon than other sources of power, including natural gas.

Obama administration attended the 2009 United Nations Climate Change Conference, which drafted the non-binding Copenhagen Accord as a successor to the Kyoto Protocol.

In 2012, Obama administration set even higher standards, mandating an average fuel efficiency of 54.

Obama administration signed the "cash-for-clunkers" bill, which provided incentives to consumers to trade in older, less fuel-efficient cars for more efficient cars.

Obama administration asked for a second major stimulus package in December 2009, but no major second stimulus bill passed.

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Obama administration launched a second bailout of US automakers, possibly saving General Motors and Chrysler from bankruptcy at the cost of $9.

Obama administration re-appointed Ben Bernanke as Chair of the Federal Reserve Board in 2009, and appointed Janet Yellen to succeed Bernanke in 2013.

Obama administration's presidency saw an extended battle over taxes that ultimately led to the permanent extension of most of the Bush tax cuts, which had been enacted between 2001 and 2003.

Obama administration ultimately persuaded many wary Democrats to support the bill, though many liberals such as Bernie Sanders continued to oppose it.

Obama administration largely rejected the austerity policies followed by many European countries.

In 2010, Obama administration ordered the creation of the National Commission on Fiscal Responsibility and Reform in order to find ways to reduce the country's debt.

In December 2010, Obama administration signed the Don't Ask, Don't Tell Repeal Act of 2010, which ended the military's policy of disallowing openly gay and lesbian people from openly serving in the United States Armed Forces.

In May 2012, Obama administration became the first sitting president to support same-sex marriage, shortly after Vice President Joe Biden had expressed support for the institution.

The following year, Obama appointed Todd M Hughes to the Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit, making Hughes the first openly gay federal judge in U S history.

The Obama Administration filed an amicus brief in support of gay marriage and Obama personally congratulated the plaintiff.

Obama administration issued dozens of executive orders intended to help LGBT Americans, including a 2010 order that extended full benefits to same-sex partners of federal employees.

Obama administration advocated for universal pre-kindergarten programs, and two free years of community college for everyone.

In December 2015, Obama administration signed the Every Student Succeeds Act, a bipartisan bill that reauthorized federally mandated testing but shrank the federal government's role in education, especially with regard to troubled schools.

In post-secondary education, Obama administration signed the Health Care and Education Reconciliation Act of 2010, which ended the role of private banks in lending out federally insured student loans, created a new income-based loan repayment plan known as Pay as You Earn, and increased the amount of Pell Grant awards given each year.

Obama administration instituted new regulations on for-profit colleges, including a "gainful employment" rule that restricted federal funding from colleges that failed to adequately prepare graduates for careers.

The Obama administration promoted the growth of renewable energy, and solar power generation tripled during Obama's presidency.

In May 2010, Obama extended a moratorium on offshore drilling permits after the 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil spill, which is generally considered to be the worst oil spill in U S history.

In December 2016, President Obama administration invoked the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act to ban offshore oil and gas exploration in large parts of the Arctic and Atlantic Oceans.

President Obama administration vetoed a bill to construct the Keystone Pipeline in February 2015, arguing that the decision of approval should rest with the executive branch.

In November 2015, Obama administration announced that he would not approve of the construction of the pipeline.

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Obama administration took a few steps to reform the criminal justice system at a time when many in both parties felt that the US had gone too far in incarcerating drug offenders, and Obama was the first president since the 1960s to preside over a reduction in the federal prison population.

Obama administration's tenure saw a continued decline of the national violent crime rate from its peak in 1991, though there was an uptick in the violent crime rate in 2015.

In 2009, President Obama administration signed the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2010, which repealed a 21-year-old ban on federal funding of needle exchange programs.

In 2016, Obama administration announced that the federal government would phase out the use of private prisons.

In 2009, the Obama administration established United States Cyber Command, an armed forces sub-unified command charged with defending the military against cyber attacks.

In 2015, Obama administration declared cyber-attacks on the US a national emergency.

Later that year, Obama administration signed the Cybersecurity Information Sharing Act into law.

In July 2009, Obama administration appointed Charles Bolden, a former astronaut, as NASA Administrator.

Obama administration's presidency saw the launch of the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter and the Mars Science Laboratory.

In 2016, Obama administration called on the United States to land a human on Mars by the 2030s.

Obama administration promoted various technologies and the technological prowess of the United States.

In January 2016, Obama announced a plan to invest $4 billion in the development of self-driving cars, as well as an initiative by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration to develop regulations for self-driving cars.

That same month, Obama administration called for a national effort led by Vice President Biden to develop a cure for cancer.

Obama administration emphasized closer relations with India, and was the first president to visit the country twice.

An advocate for nuclear non-proliferation, Obama administration successfully negotiated arms-reduction deals with Iran and Russia.

Obama administration increased the number of American soldiers in Afghanistan during his first term before withdrawing most military personnel in his second term.

Secretary of Defense Robert Gates, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, and Joint Chiefs of Staff Chair Michael Mullen all argued for further troops, and Obama administration dispatched additional soldiers after a lengthy review process.

In 2014, Obama administration announced that most troops would leave Afghanistan by late 2016, with a small force remaining at the US embassy.

In October 2015, Obama announced that U S soldiers would remain in Afghanistan indefinitely in order support the Afghan government in the civil war against the Taliban, al-Qaeda, and ISIL.

Obama administration increased US military ties with Vietnam, Australia, and the Philippines, increased aid to Laos, and contributed to a warming of relations between South Korea and Japan.

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Obama administration designed the Trans-Pacific Partnership as the key economic pillar of the Asian pivot, though the agreement remains unratified.

Obama administration made little progress with relations with North Korea, a long-time adversary of the United States, and North Korea continued to develop its WMD program.

On taking office, Obama administration called for a "reset" in relations with Russia, which had declined following the 2008 Russo-Georgian War.

Some members of Congress from both parties called for the US to arm Ukrainian forces, but Obama administration resisted becoming closely involved in the War in Donbass.

In 2016, following several cybersecurity incidents, the Obama administration formally accused Russia of engaging in a campaign to undermine the 2016 election, and the administration imposed sanctions on some Russian-linked people and organizations.

In 2017, after Obama administration left office, Robert Mueller was appointed as special counsel to investigate Russian's involvement in the 2016 election, including allegations of conspiracy or coordination between Trump's presidential campaign and Russia.

On taking office, Obama appointed George J Mitchell as a special envoy to the Middle East to work towards a settlement of the Israeli–Palestinian conflict, but Mitchell made little progress before stepping down in 2011.

However, Obama continued the US policy of vetoing UN resolutions calling for a Palestinian state, and the administration continued to advocate for a negotiated two-state solution.

Obama administration increased aid to Israel, including a $225 million emergency aid package for the Iron Dome air defense program.

The Obama administration argued that the abstention was consistent with long-standing American opposition to the expansion of settlements, while critics of the abstention argued that it abandoned a close U S ally.

Obama administration promoted two significantly larger, multilateral free trade agreements: the Trans-Pacific Partnership with eleven Pacific Rim countries, including Japan, Mexico, and Canada, and the proposed Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership with the European Union.

TPP negotiations began under President Bush, and Obama administration continued them as part of a long-term strategy that sought to refocus on rapidly growing economies in East Asia.

The Obama administration was criticized from the left for a lack of transparency in the negotiations, as well as the presence of corporate representatives who assisted in the drafting process.

In 2002, the Bush Obama administration established the Guantanamo Bay detention camp to hold alleged "enemy combatants" in a manner that did not treat the detainees as conventional prisoners of war.

Obama administration repeatedly stated his desire to close the detention camp, arguing that the camp's extrajudicial nature provided a recruitment tool for terrorist organizations.

On his first day in office, Obama instructed all military prosecutors to suspend proceedings so that the incoming administration could review the military commission process.

Many members of Congress strongly opposed plans to transfer Guantanamo detainees to prisons in U S states, and the Obama administration was reluctant to send potentially dangerous prisoners to other countries, especially unstable countries such as Yemen.

Obama expanded the drone strike program begun by the Bush administration, and the Obama administration conducted drone strikes against targets in Yemen, Somalia, and, most prominently, Pakistan.

In 2013, Obama administration appointed John Brennan as the new CIA Director and announced a new policy that required CIA operatives to determine with a "near-certainty" that no civilians would be hurt in a drone strike.

Obama administration had ordered the targeted killing of al-Aulaqi, a Muslim cleric with ties to al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula, after al-Aulaqi allegedly shifted from encouraging attacks on the United States to directly participating in them.

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The Obama administration continually sought to keep classified the legal opinions justifying drone strikes, but it said that it conducted special legal reviews before targeting Americans in order to purportedly satisfy the due process requirements of the Constitution.

Obama administration presidency saw a major thaw in relations with Cuba, which the United States embargoed following the Cuban Revolution and the 1962 Cuban Missile Crisis.

That same month, President Obama administration ordered the restoration of diplomatic ties with Cuba.

Obama administration stated that he was normalizing relationships because the economic embargo had been ineffective in persuading Cuba to develop a democratic society.

In March 2016, Obama administration visited Cuba, making him the first American president to set foot on the island since Calvin Coolidge.

In 2017, Obama administration ended the "wet feet, dry feet policy, " which had given special rights to Cuban immigrants to the United States.

On taking office, Obama administration focused on negotiations with Iran over the status of its nuclear program, working with the other P5+1 powers to adopt a multilateral agreement.

The Obama administration announced its intention to review U S military assistance to Saudi Arabia after Saudi warplanes targeted a funeral in Yemen's capital Sanaa, killing more than 140 people.

The Obama administration initially resisted calls to take strong action but relented after the Arab League requested Western intervention in Libya.

Republicans strongly criticized the Obama administration's handling of the Benghazi attack, and established a select committee in the House to investigate the attack.

The Obama administration cooperated with Syrian Kurds in opposing the ISIL, straining relations with Turkey, which accused the Syrian Kurds of working with the Kurdish terrorist groups inside Turkey.

Obama administration inherited several government surveillance programs from the Bush administration, and Obama attempted to strike a balance between protecting civil liberties and tracking terrorist threats, but Obama's continuation of many programs disappointed many civil libertarians.

In 2011, Obama administration signed a four-year extension of some provisions of the Patriot Act.

Early in his presidential campaign, Obama administration stated that lobbyists "won't find a job in my White House", but softened his stance after taking office.

Three formal waivers were initially issued in early 2009, out of 800 executive appointments: The Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington criticized the administration, claiming that Obama retreated from his own ethics rules barring lobbyists from working on the issues about which they lobbied during the previous two years by issuing waivers.

However, the Obama administration avoided "conflict of interest" scandals that previous administrations had experienced, in part due to the administration's lobbyist rules.

On taking office, the Obama administration said that all executive orders, non-emergency legislation, and proclamations would be posted to the official White House website, whitehouse.

Obama issued instructions to all agencies and departments in his administration to "adopt a presumption in favor" of Freedom of Information Act requests.

The Obama administration introduced the Open Government Directive, which encouraged government agencies to publish data and collaborate with the public, and the Open Government Partnership, which advocated open government norms.

However, Obama administration continued to make use of secret memos and the state secrets privilege, and he continued to prosecute whistleblowers.

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Obama administration called the elections "humbling" and a "shellacking", arguing that the defeat came because not enough Americans had felt the effects of the economic recovery.

Obama administration did not face any significant rivals for the Democratic nomination.

Obama administration's campaign was based in Chicago and run by many former members of the White House staff and members of the successful 2008 campaign.

Obama administration was term-limited in 2016 due to the 22nd Amendment, though Obama administration's approval ratings may have impacted his party's ability to win the race.

In June 2016, with the Democratic primaries nearly complete, Obama administration endorsed former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton as his successor.

However, according to Glenn Thrush of Politico, Obama administration had long supported Clinton as his preferred successor, and Obama administration dissuaded Vice President Biden from running against Clinton.

Obama administration spoke in favor of Clinton at the 2016 Democratic National Convention, and he continued to campaign for Clinton and other Democrats in the months leading up to Election Day.

Trump and Obama administration frequently communicated during the transition period, and Trump stated that he sought Obama administration's advice regarding presidential appointments.

However, President-elect Trump criticized some of Obama administration's actions, including Obama administration's refusal to veto a UN Resolution condemning Israel settlements.

Obama administration's election provoked a reaction to his race, birthplace, and religion.

Many of these "birthers" argued that because Obama administration was not a citizen, he was not eligible to serve as president under the natural-born-citizen requirements of the Constitution.

Many noted that Obama administration presided over an economic recovery and passed major domestic legislation, but failed to bridge a partisan divide and left office with his party in a weakened state.