132 Facts About Obama White House

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

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

The Obama White House administration orchestrated the military operation that resulted in the death of Osama bin Laden on May 2,2011.

Obama White House 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 White House continued to grapple with congressional Republicans over government spending, immigration, judicial nominations, and other issues.

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Obama White House delivered his inaugural address immediately following his oath.

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

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

Obama White House nominated several former Clinton administration officials to the Cabinet and to other positions.

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

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

On January 29, Obama White House 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.

On March 9,2009, Obama White House lifted restrictions on federal funding of embryonic stem cell research.

Obama White House 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 adopted a strategy of letting Congress drive the process, with the House and Senate writing their own bills.

However, the Obama White House bill included a tax increase on families making more than $1 million per year and a public health insurance option, while the Senate plan included an excise tax on high-cost health plans.

In March 2010, after Obama 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 White House endorsed the latter proposal, as well as an expansion of health insurance tax credits, in 2016.

On July 21,2010, Obama White House signed the Dodd–Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act, the largest financial regulatory overhaul since the New Deal.

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

Obama White House 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 White House announced that he would bypass Congress by ordering the EPA to implement new carbon emissions limits.

Obama White House 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 White House 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.

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Obama White House 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 White House set even higher standards, mandating an average fuel efficiency of 54.

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

Obama White House promoted the use of plug-in electric vehicles, and 400,000 electric cars had been sold by the end of 2015.

On February 17,2009, Obama White House signed into law a $787 billion economic stimulus bill that included spending for health care, infrastructure, education, various tax breaks and incentives, and direct assistance to individuals.

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

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

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

Obama White House'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 White House wanted to extend the tax cuts for taxpayers making less than $250,000 a year, while Congressional Republicans wanted a total extension of the tax cuts, and refused to support any bill that did not extend tax cuts for top earners.

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

Republicans sought to make all tax cuts permanent, while Obama White House sought to extend the tax cuts only for those making under $250,000.

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

In 2010, Obama White House 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 White House 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 White House 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 US history.

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

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

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In December 2015, Obama White House 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 White House 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 White House 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.

In 2012, Obama White House implemented the DACA policy, which protected roughly 700,000 illegal immigrants from deportation; the policy applies only to those who were brought to the United States before their 16th birthday.

In November 2015, Obama White House announced a plan to resettle at least 10,000 Syrian refugees in the United States.

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

Obama White House issued numerous energy efficiency standards, contributing to a flattening of growth of the total US energy demand.

In May 2010, Obama White House 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 US history.

In December 2016, President Obama White House 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 White House 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 White House announced that he would not approve of the construction of the pipeline.

Obama White House 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 White House was the first president since the 1960s to preside over a reduction in the federal prison population.

Obama White House'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 White House signed the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2010, which repealed a 21-year-old ban on federal funding of needle exchange programs.

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

Obama White House commuted the sentences of over 1,000 individuals, a higher number of commutations than any other president, and most of Obama White House's commutations went to nonviolent drug offenders.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

In January 2016, Obama White House 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 White House called for a national effort led by Vice President Biden to develop a cure for cancer.

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

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

Obama White House attempted to convince Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki to allow US soldiers to stay past 2011, but the large presence of American soldiers was unpopular with most Iraqis.

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

On taking office, Obama White House announced that the US military presence in Afghanistan would be bolstered by 17,000 new troops by Summer 2009, on top of the roughly 30,000 soldiers already in Afghanistan at the start of 2009.

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 White House dispatched additional soldiers after a lengthy review process.

That same year, the Obama White House administration designated Afghanistan as a major non-NATO ally.

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

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

Obama White House left office with roughly 8,400 US soldiers remaining in Afghanistan.

Obama White House 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.

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

Obama White House 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 White House 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 White House resisted becoming closely involved in the War in Donbass.

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In 2017, after Obama White House 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 White House 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 White House increased aid to Israel, including a $225 million emergency aid package for the Iron Dome air defense program.

The Obama White House 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 US ally.

Obama White House 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 White House continued them as part of a long-term strategy that sought to refocus on rapidly growing economies in East Asia.

The Obama White House 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.

Obama White House 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 White House 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 US states, and the Obama White House administration was reluctant to send potentially dangerous prisoners to other countries, especially unstable countries such as Yemen.

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

In 2013, Obama White House 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 White House 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.

Obama White House 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 White House ordered the restoration of diplomatic ties with Cuba.

Obama White House 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 White House visited Cuba, making him the first American president to set foot on the island since Calvin Coolidge.

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

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

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

Obama White House authorized US forces to participate in international air attacks on Libyan air defenses using Tomahawk cruise missiles to establish the protective zone.

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 White House 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.

In November 2015, Obama White House announced a plan to resettle at least 10,000 Syrian refugees in the United States.

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

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

On January 21,2009, Obama White House issued an executive order for all future appointees to his administration, which ordered that no appointee who was a registered lobbyist within the two years before his appointment could participate on matters in which he lobbied for a period of two years after the date of appointment.

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

Obama White House promised that he would run the "most transparent" administration in US history, with mixed results.

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.

On January 21,2009, by executive order, Obama White House revoked Executive Order 13233, which had limited access to the records of former United States presidents.

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

The Obama White House 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 White House continued to make use of secret memos and the state secrets privilege, and he continued to prosecute whistleblowers.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Many of these "birthers" argued that because Obama White House 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 White House 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.