presidency of Barack Obama

{{col-begin}}

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Economic policy actions

• Responding to the Great Recession
• American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009
• Automotive industry bailout
• Wall Street reform
• Credit CARD Act of 2009
• Dodd–Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act
• Taxation and spending
• Tax Relief, Unemployment Insurance Reauthorization, and Job Creation Act of 2010
• Budget Control Act of 2011
• American Taxpayer Relief Act of 2012
• Bipartisan Budget Act of 2015
• 2013 debt ceiling crisis and government shutdown
• Continuing Appropriations Act, 2014
• Bipartisan Budget Act of 2013

Other domestic policy actions

• Healthcare reform
• Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act
• Health Care and Education Reconciliation Act of 2010
• Education
• Race to the Top competitive grant program
• Every Student Succeeds Act
• Climate change
• Clean Power Plan
• Immigration policy
• Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals
• Deferred Action for Parents of Americans (blocked by Supreme Court)
• Social policy
• Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act
• Matthew Shepard Act
• Don't Ask, Don't Tell Repeal Act of 2010
• Intelligence and surveillance policy
• Patriot Act extension (2011–2015)
• USA Freedom Act

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Foreign policy actions

• Free trade agreements
• United States–Colombia Free Trade Agreement
• Panama–United States Trade Promotion Agreement
• South Korea–United States Free Trade Agreement
• Trans-Pacific Partnership (signed but not ratified)
• Arms control
• New START
• Climate change
• Paris Agreement
• Iraq
• Withdrawal of U.S. troops from Iraq
• American-led intervention in Iraq
• Afghanistan
• War in Afghanistan
• Partial withdrawal of U.S. troops from Afghanistan
• Rapprochement with Cuba and Iran
• Cuban thaw
• Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action with Iran
• Other military operations
• Drone strikes in Pakistan
• 2011 military intervention in Libya
• Killing of Osama bin Laden
• Military intervention against ISIL

Supreme Court nominations

• Sonia Sotomayor (confirmed)
• Elena Kagan (confirmed)
• Merrick Garland (not confirmed)

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{{Main|Barack Obama 2008 presidential campaign|2008 United States presidential election}}

{{Further|2008 United States elections|2008 Democratic Party presidential primaries|2008 Democratic National Convention}}

File:ElectoralCollege2008.svg

Barack Obama announced his candidacy for the Democratic nomination in the 2008 presidential election on February 10, 2007.{{cite news|url=http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/politics/chi-070210obama-pearson1-story,0,3768114.story |title=Obama: I'm running for president |work=Chicago Tribune |author=Pearson, Rick |author2=Long, Ray |date=February 10, 2007 |access-date=September 20, 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070813115846/http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/politics/chi-070210obama-pearson1-story%2C0%2C3768114.story |archive-date=August 13, 2007 |url-status=live }} In June 2008, Obama clinched the nomination.{{cite news|url=http://www.cnn.com/2008/POLITICS/06/03/election.democrats/index.html|title=Obama: I will be the Democratic nominee|date=June 3, 2008|publisher=CNN|access-date=June 4, 2008}} Obama selected Senator Joe Biden of Delaware as his running mate, and the two were officially nominated at the 2008 Democratic National Convention.

On November 4, Obama was projected to have secured the presidency. Obama won the presidential election with 365 electoral votes, while John McCain received 173. In the concurrent congressional elections, Democrats added to their majorities in both the House of Representatives and the Senate, and Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid both remained in their posts. Republicans John Boehner and Mitch McConnell continued to serve as House Minority Leader and Senate Minority Leader, respectively.

{{Main|Presidential transition of Barack Obama|First inauguration of Barack Obama}}{{Multiple image

| image1 = President Bush, Barack Obama walking.jpg

| caption1 = Outgoing president George W. Bush and President-elect Barack Obama on November 10, 2008.

| image2 = US President Barack Obama taking his Oath of Office - 2009Jan20.jpg

| caption2 = Chief Justice John Roberts administers the presidential oath of office to Obama at the Capitol, January 20, 2009.

| total_width = 450

}}

The presidential transition period began following Obama's victory in the 2008 U.S. presidential election, though Obama had chosen Chris Lu to begin planning for the transition in May 2008.{{cite news|last1=Berman|first1=Russell|title=The Most Important Takeover of Any Organization in History|url=https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2016/04/improving-the-presidential-transition-2016/477528/|access-date=August 19, 2016|publisher=The Atlantic|date=April 22, 2016}} John Podesta, Valerie Jarrett, and Pete Rouse co-chaired the Obama-Biden Transition Project. During the transition period, Obama announced nominations for his cabinet and administration. In November 2008, Congressman Rahm Emanuel accepted Obama's offer to serve as White House Chief of Staff.{{cite news | date=November 6, 2008 | access-date=December 17, 2008| last1=Baker| first1= Peter |last2=Zeleny| first2= Jeff |author2-link=Jeff Zeleny| url=https://www.nytimes.com/2008/11/06/us/politics/06elect.html| title=For Obama, No Time to Bask in Victory As He Starts to Build a Transition Team| work=The New York Times}}

Obama was inaugurated on January 20, 2009, officially assuming the presidency at 12:00 pm, EST,{{cite web |author=United States Constitution|title=20th Amendment to the United States Constitution |url=https://www.law.cornell.edu/constitution/constitution.amendmentxx.html |access-date=January 21, 2009}} and completing the oath of office at 12:05 pm, EST. He delivered his inaugural address immediately following his oath.{{cite news |title=Obama Signs First Presidential Proclamation |date=January 20, 2009 |url=http://politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com/2009/01/20/obama-signs-first-presidential-proclamation/ |access-date=January 20, 2009 |publisher=CNN |archive-date=March 2, 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140302065319/http://politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com/2009/01/20/obama-signs-first-presidential-proclamation/ }} Obama's transition team was highly complimentary of the Bush administration's outgoing transition team, particularly with regards to national security, and some elements of the Bush-Obama transition were later codified into law.

{{Wikisource|Barack Obama's First Inaugural Address}}

{{Main|First 100 days of Barack Obama's presidency}}

{{listen

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| caption2 = President Obama addresses a joint session of Congress, with Vice President Joe Biden and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, February 24, 2009.

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Within minutes of Obama's taking office, his chief of staff, Rahm Emanuel, issued an order suspending last-minute regulations and executive orders signed by his predecessor George W. Bush.{{cite news|agency=AP|title=Obama halts all regulations pending review|date=January 20, 2009|url=https://www.nbcnews.com/id/wbna28758810|access-date=January 21, 2009|work=NBC News }} Some of the first actions of Obama's presidency focused on reversing measures taken by the Bush administration following the September 11 attacks.{{cite news|last1=Shear|first1=Michael|title=Threat to Legacy Gives Obama Powerful Motive to Stump for Hillary Clinton|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2016/07/27/us/politics/obama-legacy.html|access-date=August 19, 2016|work=The New York Times|date=July 27, 2016}} In his first week in office, Obama signed Executive Order 13492 suspending all ongoing proceedings of the Guantanamo military commissions and ordering the Guantanamo detention facility to be shut down within the year.{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2009/01/22/us/politics/22gitmo.html|title=Obama Issues Directive to Shut Down Guantánamo|date=January 21, 2009|work=The New York Times | first1=Mark | last1=Mazzetti | first2=William | last2=Glaberson | access-date=May 22, 2010}} Another order, Executive Order 13491, banned torture and other coercive techniques, such as waterboarding.{{cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2009/01/23/us/politics/23obama.html |title=Obama Reverses Key Bush Security Policies |work=The New York Times |date=January 22, 2009 }} Obama also issued an executive order placing tighter restrictions on lobbying in the White House,{{cite web|url=https://www.whitehouse.gov/the_press_office/ExecutiveOrder-EthicsCommitments |title=Ethics Commitments by Executive Branch Personnel |access-date=January 22, 2009 |publisher=The White House |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130623185411/http://www.whitehouse.gov/the_press_office/ExecutiveOrder-EthicsCommitments |archive-date=June 23, 2013 }} and rescinded the Mexico City Policy, which banned federal grants to international groups that provide abortion services or counseling.{{cite news|last1=Tapper|first1=Jake|last2=Miller|first2=Sunlen|last3=Khan|first3=Huma|title=Obama Overturns Mexico City Policy Implemented by Reagan|url=https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/International/obama-overturns-mexico-city-policy-implemented-reagan/story?id=6716958|access-date=February 12, 2017|work=ABC News|date=January 23, 2009}}

On January 29, Obama 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.{{cite web|url=https://obamawhitehouse.archives.gov/blog/2009/01/29/a-wonderful-day |title=A Wonderful Day|access-date=January 29, 2009|via=National Archives |work=whitehouse.gov |date=January 29, 2009}} On February 3, he signed the Children's Health Insurance Program Reauthorization Act (CHIP), expanding CHIP's health care coverage from 7 million children to 11 million children.{{cite web|author=Macon Phillips |url=https://obamawhitehouse.archives.gov/blog_post/chip/ |title=CHIP |date=April 1, 2013 |via=National Archives |work=whitehouse.gov |access-date=August 7, 2013}} On March 9, 2009, Obama lifted restrictions on federal funding of embryonic stem cell research.{{cite news |first=Sheryl|last=Stolberg|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2009/03/10/us/politics/10stem.html |title=Obama Lifts Bush's Strict Limits on Stem Cell Research|work=The New York Times |date=March 9, 2009|access-date=March 17, 2009}} Obama stated that, like Bush, he would employ signing statements if he deems a portion of a bill to be unconstitutional,{{cite news |first=Charlie|last=Savage|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2009/03/10/us/politics/10signing.html |title=Obama Looks to Limit Impact of Tactic Bush Used to Sidestep New Laws|work=The New York Times |date=March 9, 2009|access-date=March 17, 2009}} and he subsequently issued several signing statements.{{cite news

| last = Savage

| first = Charlie

| title = A Bill Signing, With Reservations

| work=The New York Times

| date = June 27, 2009

| url = http://thecaucus.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/06/26/a-bill-signing-with-reservations/

| access-date = June 27, 2009}}

Obama also signed the Omnibus Public Land Management Act of 2009, which added {{convert|2|e6acre|km2}} of land to the National Wilderness Preservation System,{{cite news|title=Obama signs sweeping public land reform legislation|url=http://www.cnn.com/2009/POLITICS/03/30/obama.lands.bill/|access-date=July 22, 2016|publisher=CNN|date=March 30, 2009}} as well as a law raising the cigarette pack tax by 62 cents ({{Inflation|US|0.62|2009|r=2|fmt=eq}}).{{Cite news|title=PROMISES, PROMISES: Obama tax pledge up in smoke |url=http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/businesstechnology/2008961613_apobamataxpromise.html|date=April 1, 2009|work=The Seattle Times|agency=Associated Press|access-date=May 24, 2011 |first=Calvin |last=Woodward}}

On February 17, 2009, Obama signed the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) to address the Great Recession. The ARRA had been passed, after much debate, by both the House and Senate four days earlier. While it was originally intended to be a bipartisan bill, Congressional passage of the bill relied largely on Democratic votes, though three Republican senators voted for it. The lack of Republican support for the bill, and the inability of Democrats to win that support, foreshadowed the gridlock and partisanship that continued throughout Obama's presidency.{{cite news|last1=Chaddock|first1=Gail Russell|title=USA POLITICS Obama wins his economic stimulus package, but without the bipartisanship he sought|url=http://www.csmonitor.com/USA/Politics/2009/0214/obama-wins-his-economic-stimulus-package-but-without-the-bipartisanship-he-sought|access-date=February 19, 2016|newspaper=Christian Science Monitor|date=February 14, 2009}}{{cite magazine|last1=Grunwald|first1=Michael|title=The Party of No: New Details on the GOP Plot to Obstruct Obama|url=https://swampland.time.com/2012/08/23/the-party-of-no-new-details-on-the-gop-plot-to-obstruct-obama/|access-date=February 19, 2016|magazine=Time|date=August 23, 2012}}{{cite news|last1=Lizza|first1=Ryan|author1-link=Ryan Lizza|title=The Obama Memos|url=https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2012/01/30/the-obama-memos|access-date=February 19, 2016|magazine=The New Yorker|date=January 30, 2012}} The $787 billion bill combined tax breaks with spending on infrastructure projects, extension of welfare benefits, and education.{{cite news|last=Sahadi |first=Jeanne |url=https://money.cnn.com/2009/01/27/news/economy/stimulus_spending |title=Stimulus with interest: $1.2 trillion |website=CNN |date=January 27, 2009 |access-date=April 14, 2012}}{{cite news|last=Sahadi |first=Jeanne |url=https://money.cnn.com/2009/02/17/news/economy/obama_stimulus_meas_success/index.htm |title=Stimulus: Now for the hard part |website=CNN |date=February 17, 2009 |access-date=August 7, 2013}}

{{Obama cabinet infobox}}

{{Main|Cabinet of Barack Obama}}

{{See also|Vice presidency of Joe Biden}}

Following his inauguration, Obama and the Senate worked to confirm his nominees to the United States Cabinet. Three Cabinet-level officers did not require confirmation: Vice President Joe Biden, whom Obama had chosen as his running mate at the 2008 Democratic National Convention, Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel, and Defense Secretary Robert Gates, whom Obama chose to retain from the previous administration.{{cite web|url=https://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=99674016|title=The Obama Cabinet: Confirmations & Nominations|access-date=January 28, 2009|date=January 22, 2009|publisher=NPR}} An early list of suggestions came from Michael Froman, then an executive at Citigroup.{{cite magazine|url=https://newrepublic.com/article/137798/important-wikileaks-revelation-isnt-hillary-clinton|title=The Most Important WikiLeaks Revelation Isn't About Hillary Clinton: What John Podesta's emails from 2008 reveal about the way power works in the Democratic Party|first=David|last=Dayen|date=October 14, 2016|magazine=The New Republic}} Obama described his Cabinet choices as a "team of rivals", and Obama chose several prominent public officials for Cabinet positions, including defeated rival Hillary Clinton as Secretary of State.{{cite news|last1=Youngman|first1=Sam|title=Obama's 'team of rivals' Cabinet living out the president's 'no drama' mantra|url=https://thehill.com/homenews/administration/57660-obamas-team-of-rivals-cabinet-living-out-the-presidents-no-drama-mantra/|access-date=December 16, 2015|work=The Hill|date=December 28, 2009}} Obama nominated several former Clinton administration officials to the Cabinet and to other positions.{{cite news|last1=Smith|first1=Ben|title=The Clinton band is back together|url=http://www.politico.com/story/2008/11/the-clinton-band-is-back-together-015617?o=1|access-date=November 20, 2015|website=Politico|date=November 14, 2008}} On April 28, 2009, the Senate confirmed former Kansas governor Kathleen Sebelius as Secretary of Health and Human Services, completing Obama's initial Cabinet.{{cite news|last1=Kamen|first1=Al|title=Just Inside 100 Days, Sebelius Completes the Cabinet|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/04/28/AR2009042803534.html|access-date=December 18, 2015|newspaper=The Washington Post|date=April 29, 2009}} During Obama's presidency, four Republicans served in Obama's Cabinet: Ray LaHood as Secretary of Transportation, Robert McDonald as Secretary of Veterans Affairs, and Gates and Chuck Hagel as Secretaries of Defense.

{{see also|Independent agencies of the United States government|White House Office}}

• Counselor to the President
• Pete Rouse (2011–2014)
• John Podesta (2014–2015)
• Senior Advisor to the President
• Valerie Jarrett (2009–2017)
• Pete Rouse (2009–2010)
• David Axelrod (2009–2011)
• David Plouffe (2011–2013)
• Daniel Pfeiffer (2013–2015)
• Brian Deese (2015–2017)
• Shailagh Murray (2015–2017)
• White House Deputy Chief of Staff
• Jim Messina (2009–2011)
• Mona Sutphen (2009–2011)
• Nancy-Ann DeParle (2011–2013)
• Alyssa Mastromonaco (2011–2014)
• Mark B. Childress (2012–2014)
• Rob Nabors (2013–2015)
• Anita Decker Breckenridge (2014–2017)
• Kristie Canegallo (2014–2017)
• White House Press Secretary
• Robert Gibbs (2009–2011)
• Jay Carney (2011–2014)
• Josh Earnest (2014–2017)
• White House Communications Director
• Ellen Moran (2009)
• Anita Dunn (2009)
• Daniel Pfeiffer (2009–2013)
• Jennifer Palmieri (2013–2015)
• Jen Psaki (2015–2017)
• White House Counsel
• Greg Craig (2009–2010)
• Bob Bauer (2010–2011)
• Kathryn Ruemmler (2011–2014)
• Neil Eggleston (2014–2017)
• Chief of Staff to the First Lady of the United States
• Jackie Norris (2009–)
• Susan Sher (–2011)
• Tina Tchen (2011–2017)

{{Col-begin}}

{{Col-break}}

Security and international affairs

• Assistant to the President for National Security Affairs
• James L. Jones (2009–2011)
• Thomas E. Donilon (2011–2013)
• Susan Rice (2013–2017)
• Special envoy for Afghanistan and Pakistan
• Richard Holbrooke (2009–2010)
• Marc Grossman (2011–2012)
• James Dobbins (2013–2014)
• Daniel F. Feldman (2014–2017)
• Special envoy to the Middle East
• George J. Mitchell (2009–2011)
• David Hale (2011–2013)
• Martin Indyk (2013–2014)
• Frank Lowenstein (2014–2017)
• Director of National Intelligence
• Dennis C. Blair (2009–2010)
• David Gompert (acting, 2010)
• James Clapper (2010–2017)
• Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation
• Robert Mueller (2001–2013)†
• James Comey (2013–2017)
• Director of the Central Intelligence Agency
• Leon Panetta (2009–2011)
• Michael Morell (acting, 2011)
• David Petraeus (2011–2012)
• Michael Morell (acting, 2013)
• John Brennan (2013–2017)

{{Col-break}}

Economic affairs

• Assistant to the President for Economic Policy and
  Director of National Economic Council
• Lawrence Summers (2009–2010)
• Gene Sperling (2011–2014)
• Jeffrey Zients (2014–2017)
• Chair of the Economic Recovery Advisory Board
• Paul Volcker (2009–2011)
• Replaced by Council on Jobs and Competitiveness in 2011
• Chairperson of the Council on Jobs and Competitiveness
• Jeffrey R. Immelt (2011–2017)
• Federal Reserve Board of Governors
• Ben Bernanke, Chair (2006–2014)‡
• Daniel Tarullo (2009–2017)
• Janet Yellen (2010–2018), Chair (2014–2018)
• Sarah Bloom Raskin (2010–2014)
• Jerome Powell (2012–present), Chair (2018–present)
• Jeremy C. Stein (2012–2014)
• Stanley Fischer (2014–2017)
• Lael Brainard (2014–2023)
• Chair of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation
• Sheila Bair (2006–2011)†
• Martin J. Gruenberg (2011–2018)
• Chair of the Securities and Exchange Commission
• Mary Schapiro (2009–2012)
• Elisse B. Walter (2012–2013)
• Mary Jo White (2013–2017)

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{{col-end}}

†Appointed by President Bush

‡Originally appointed by President Bush, reappointed by President Obama

{{Main|Barack Obama Supreme Court candidates}}

File:Obama and Sotomayor.jpg]]

File:Obama signing Kagan's commission.jpg]]

There were three vacancies on the Supreme Court of the United States during Obama's tenure, but Obama made only two successful appointments. During the 111th Congress, when Democrats held a majority in the Senate, Obama successfully nominated two Supreme Court Justices:

• Sonia Sotomayor, replacing David Souter{{spaced ndash}}2009
• Elena Kagan, replacing John Paul Stevens{{spaced ndash}}2010

Justice Antonin Scalia died in February 2016, during the 114th Congress, which had a Republican majority in the Senate. In March 2016, Obama nominated Chief Judge Merrick Garland of the D.C. Circuit to fill Scalia's seat. However, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, Judiciary Committee Chair Chuck Grassley, and other Senate Republicans argued that Supreme Court nominations should not be made during a presidential election year, and that the winner of the 2016 presidential election should instead appoint Scalia's replacement.{{cite news|last1=Kelly|first1=Amita|title=McConnell: Blocking Supreme Court Nomination 'About A Principle, Not A Person'|url=https://www.npr.org/2016/03/16/470664561/mcconnell-blocking-supreme-court-nomination-about-a-principle-not-a-person|access-date=March 18, 2016|publisher=NPR|date=March 16, 2016}}{{cite news|last1=Shear|first1=Michael|title=More Republicans Say They'll Block Supreme Court Nominee|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2016/02/16/us/politics/more-republicans-say-theyll-block-supreme-court-nomination.html|access-date=February 16, 2016|work=The New York Times|date=February 15, 2016}} Garland's nomination remained before the Senate for longer than any other Supreme Court nomination in history,{{cite news|last1=Hurley|first1=Lawrence|title=Supreme Court nominee out in cold as election heats up|url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-election-garland-idUSKCN0ZZ17L|access-date=July 19, 2016|publisher=Reuters|date=July 19, 2016}} and the nomination expired with the end of the 114th Congress.{{cite news |first=Jess |last=Bravin |url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/president-obamas-supreme-court-nomination-of-merrick-garland-expires-1483463952 |title=President Obama's Supreme Court Nomination of Merrick Garland Expires |work=The Wall Street Journal |date=January 3, 2017 }} President Donald Trump later nominated Neil Gorsuch to Scalia's former seat on the Supreme Court, and Gorsuch was confirmed by the Senate in April 2017.

{{Further|List of federal judges appointed by Barack Obama|Barack Obama judicial appointment controversies}}

Obama's presidency saw the continuation of battles between both parties over the confirmation of judicial nominees. Democrats continually accused Republicans of stalling nominees throughout Obama's tenure. After several nomination battles, Senate Democrats in 2013 reformed the use of the filibuster so that it could no longer be used on executive or judicial nominations (excluding the Supreme Court).{{cite news|last1=McCarthy|first1=Tom|title=Senate approves change to filibuster rule after repeated Republican blocks|url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/nov/21/harry-reid-senate-rules-republican-filibusters-nominations|access-date=November 14, 2015|work=The Guardian|date=November 21, 2013}} Republicans took over the Senate after the 2014 elections, giving them the power to block any judicial nominee, and the 114th Congress confirmed just 20 judicial nominees, the lowest number of confirmations since the 82nd Congress.{{cite news|last1=Min Kim|first1=Seung|title=McConnell's historic judge blockade|url=http://www.politico.com/story/2016/07/mitch-mcconnell-judges-225455|access-date=November 17, 2016|website=Politico|date=July 14, 2016}} Obama's judicial nominees were significantly more diverse than those of previous administrations, with more appointments going to women and minorities.{{cite magazine|last1=Toobin|first1=Jeffrey|author-link1=Jeffrey Toobin|title=The Obama Brief|url=https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2014/10/27/obama-brief|access-date=November 15, 2015|magazine=The New Yorker|date=October 27, 2014}}

{{see also|Social policy of the Barack Obama administration}}

{{See also|Health care reform in the United States|Health care reforms proposed during the Obama administration}}

Once the stimulus bill was enacted in February 2009, health care reform became Obama's top domestic priority, and the 111th Congress passed a major bill that eventually became widely known as "Obamacare". Health care reform had long been a top priority of the Democratic Party, and Democrats were eager to implement a new plan that would lower costs and increase coverage.{{cite news|last1=Sack|first1=Kevin|title=Health Plan From Obama Spurs Debate|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2008/07/23/us/23health.html?pagewanted=all|access-date=November 15, 2015|work=The New York Times|date=July 23, 2008}} 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. In the Senate, a bipartisan group of senators on the Finance Committee known as the Gang of Six began meeting with the hope of creating a bipartisan healthcare reform bill,{{cite news|last1=Herszenhorn|first1=David|title=Health Policy Is Carved Out at Table for 6|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2009/07/28/us/politics/28baucus.html|access-date=November 19, 2015|work=The New York Times|date=July 27, 2009}} even though the Republican senators involved with the crafting of the bill ultimately came to oppose it.{{cite news|last1=Ornstein|first1=Norm|title=The Real Story of Obamacare's Birth|url=https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2015/07/the-real-story-of-obamacares-birth/397742/|access-date=November 19, 2015|work=The Atlantic|date=July 6, 2015}} In November 2009, the House passed the Affordable Health Care for America Act on a 220–215 vote, with only one Republican voting for the bill.{{cite news|url=https://www.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE62L0JA20100322|work=Reuters|title=Timeline: Milestones in Obama's quest for healthcare reform|access-date=March 22, 2010|date=March 22, 2010}} In December 2009, the Senate passed its own health care reform bill, the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA or ACA), on a party-line, 60–39 vote.{{cite news|last1=Murray|first1=Shailagh|title=Senate passes health-care bill, now must reconcile it with House|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/12/24/AR2009122400662.html|access-date=November 13, 2015|newspaper=The Washington Post|date=December 25, 2009}} Both bills expanded Medicaid and provided health care subsidies; they also established an individual mandate, health insurance exchanges, and a ban on denying coverage based on pre-existing conditions.{{cite news|last1=Grier|first1=Peter|title=Three big differences between House and Senate healthcare bills|url=http://www.csmonitor.com/USA/Politics/2009/1221/Three-big-differences-between-House-and-Senate-healthcare-bills|access-date=November 15, 2015|work=The Christian Science Monitor|date=December 3, 2009}} However, the 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.

The 2010 Massachusetts Senate special election victory of Scott Brown seriously imperiled the prospects of a health care reform bill, as Democrats lost their 60-seat Senate super-majority.{{cite web|url=http://blogs.abcnews.com/politicalpunch/2010/03/obama-not-worried-about-procedural-rules-like-deem-and-pass-for-health-care.html |title=Obama Not Worried About 'Procedural Rules' like "Deem and Pass" for Health Care – Political Punch |work=ABC News |date=March 17, 2010 |access-date=December 18, 2010}}{{cite news| url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/03/17/AR2010031704184.html | newspaper=The Washington Post | title=Democrats yet to decide on health-care bill bear the weight of Washington | first1=Sandhya | last1=Somashekhar | first2=Paul | last2=Kane | date=March 18, 2010 | access-date=May 22, 2010}} The White House and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi engaged in an extensive campaign to convince both centrists and liberals in the House to pass the Senate's health care bill, the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act. In March 2010, after Obama announced an executive order reinforcing the current law against spending federal funds for elective abortion services,{{cite magazine|first=Jonathan|last=Chait|url=https://newrepublic.com/blog/jonathan-chait/stupak-makes-deal-reform-pass|title=Stupak Makes A Deal, Reform To Pass|magazine=The New Republic|date=March 21, 2010}} the House passed the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act.{{cite news|last1=Murray|first1=Shailagh|title=House passes health-care reform bill without Republican votes|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/03/21/AR2010032100943.html|access-date=December 17, 2015|newspaper=The Washington Post|date=March 22, 2010}} The bill, which had passed the Senate in December 2009, did not receive a single Republican vote in either house. On March 23, 2010, Obama signed the PPACA into law.{{cite news|last1=Stolberg|first1=Sheryl Gay|author-link=Sheryl Gay Stolberg|title=Obama Signs Health Care Overhaul Bill, With a Flourish|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2010/03/24/health/policy/24health.html|access-date=December 17, 2015|work=The New York Times|date=March 23, 2010}} The New York Times described the PPACA as "the most expansive social legislation enacted in decades," while the Washington Post noted that it was the biggest expansion of health insurance coverage since the creation of Medicare and Medicaid in 1965. Both houses of Congress also passed a reconciliation measure to make significant changes and corrections to the PPACA; this second bill was signed into law on March 30, 2010.{{cite news|url=http://www.wusa9.com/news/local/story.aspx?storyid=99102|title=Congress Passes Final Tweaking to Health Reform Bill|first=David|last=Beardsley|date=March 25, 2010|work=WUSA|access-date=May 14, 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130130232346/http://www.wusa9.com/news/local/story.aspx?storyid=99102|archive-date=January 30, 2013}}{{cite news|url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB10001424052748704094104575143603431943646|title=Congress Approves Final Health Overhaul|author=Gregg Hitt|date=March 25, 2010|work=The Wall Street Journal|access-date=May 14, 2012}} The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act became widely known as the Affordable Care Act (ACA) or "Obamacare".{{cite news|last=Baker|first=Peter|title=Democrats Embrace Once Pejorative 'Obamacare' Tag|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2012/08/04/health/policy/democrats-embrace-once-pejorative-obamacare-tag.html|access-date=November 15, 2015|newspaper=The New York Times|date=August 3, 2012}}

File:Percentage of Individuals in the United States Without Health Insurance, 1963-2015.png){{cite journal|last1=Obama|first1=Barack|title=United States Health Care Reform|journal=JAMA|date=August 2, 2016|volume=316|issue=5|pages=525–532|doi=10.1001/jama.2016.9797|pmid=27400401|issn=0098-7484|pmc=5069435}}]]

The Affordable Care Act faced considerable challenges and opposition after its passage, and Republicans continually attempted to repeal the law.{{cite news|last1=Raju|first1=Manu|title=OBAMACARE GOP lawmakers: Time to move on from Obamacare repeal|url=http://www.politico.com/story/2015/06/gop-lawmakers-time-to-move-on-from-obamacare-repeal-119439|access-date=November 13, 2015|website=Politico|date=June 25, 2015}} The law also survived two major challenges that went to the Supreme Court.{{cite news|last1=Eilperin|first1=Juliet|title=Legacies of Obama presidency and Roberts court are forever intertwined|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/obama-and-roberts-supreme-court-ruling-further-entwines-two-legacies/2015/06/25/b389f522-1b44-11e5-bd7f-4611a60dd8e5_story.html|access-date=November 16, 2015|newspaper=The Washington Post|date=June 25, 2015}} In National Federation of Independent Business v. Sebelius, a 5–4 majority upheld the constitutionality of the Affordable Care Act, even though it made state Medicaid expansion voluntary. In King v. Burwell, a 6–3 majority allowed the use of tax credits in state-operated exchanges. The October 2013 launch of HealthCare.gov, a health insurance exchange website created under the provisions of the ACA, was widely criticized,{{cite news|last1=O'Brien|first1=Michael|title=Website mess gives fuel to Obamacare critics|url=https://www.nbcnews.com/news/other/website-mess-gives-fuel-obamacare-critics-f8C11434916|access-date=November 16, 2015|website=NBC|date=October 21, 2013}} even though many of the problems were fixed by the end of the year.{{cite news|last1=Eilperin|first1=Juliet|title=Jeff Zients helped salvage HealthCare.gov. Now he'll be Obama's go-to guy on economy.|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/jeff-zients-helped-salvage-healthcaregov-now-hell-be-obamas-go-to-guy-on-economy/2013/12/22/3ebf38a4-6986-11e3-8b5b-a77187b716a3_story.html|access-date=November 16, 2015|newspaper=The Washington Post|date=December 22, 2013}} The number of uninsured Americans dropped from 20.2% of the population in 2010 to 13.3% of the population in 2015,{{cite news|last1=Ungar|first1=Laura|title=Uninsured rates drop dramatically under Obamacare|url=https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2015/03/16/uninsured-rates-drop-sharply-under-obamacare/24852325/|access-date=November 15, 2015|work=USA Today|date=March 16, 2015}} though Republicans continued to oppose Obamacare as an unwelcome expansion of government.{{cite news|last1=Pear|first1=Robert|title=House G.O.P. Again Votes to Repeal Health Care Law|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2015/02/04/us/politics/house-gop-again-votes-to-repeal-health-care-law.html|access-date=November 15, 2015|work=The New York Times|date=February 3, 2015}} Many liberals continued to push for a single-payer healthcare system or a public option,{{cite news|last1=Cusack|first1=Bob|title=The chaotic fight for ObamaCare|url=https://thehill.com/policy/healthcare/268877-the-chaotic-fight-for-obamacare/|access-date=February 10, 2016|work=The Hill|date=February 10, 2016}} and Obama endorsed the latter proposal, as well as an expansion of health insurance tax credits, in 2016.{{cite news|last1=Rhodan|first1=Maya|title=President Obama Explains How He Wants to Fix Obamacare in Speech at Florida College|url=https://time.com/4539092/president-obama-obamacare-miami-dade-college-florida/|access-date=October 20, 2016|magazine=Time|date=October 20, 2016}}

{{see also|Banking in the United States}}

Risky practices among the major financial institutions on Wall Street were widely seen as contributing to the subprime mortgage crisis, the 2008 financial crisis, and the subsequent Great Recession, so Obama made Wall Street reform a priority in his first term.{{cite news|last1=Sorkin|first1=Andrew Ross|title=A Tough Crowd on Wall Street|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2009/09/15/business/15sorkin.html?ref=businessspecial4|access-date=December 14, 2015|work=The New York Times|date=September 14, 2009}} On July 21, 2010, Obama signed the Dodd–Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act, the largest financial regulatory overhaul since the New Deal.{{cite news |last= Censky|first=Annalyn|title=Obama on new law: 'No more taxpayer bailouts' |url=https://money.cnn.com/2010/07/21/news/economy/obama_signs_wall_street_reform_bill/index.htm|date=July 21, 2010|access-date=July 22, 2010 | publisher=CNN}} The act increased regulation and reporting requirements on derivatives (particularly credit default swaps), and took steps to limit systemic risks to the US economy with policies such as higher capital requirements, the creation of the Orderly Liquidation Authority to help wind down large, failing financial institutions, and the creation of the Financial Stability Oversight Council to monitor systemic risks.{{cite news|last1=Konczal|first1=Mike|title=Dodd-Frank turns 5 today — it's Obama's most underappreciated achievement|url=https://www.vox.com/2015/7/21/9004155/dodd-frank-explainer|access-date=December 14, 2015|publisher=Vox|date=July 21, 2015}} Dodd-Frank also established the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, which was charged with protecting consumers against abusive financial practices.{{cite news|last1=Calmes|first1=Jackie|title=Obama Picks Warren to Set Up Consumer Bureau|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2010/09/18/us/politics/18warren.html|access-date=November 15, 2015|work=The New York Times|date=September 17, 2010}} On signing the bill, Obama stated that the bill would "empower consumers and investors," "bring the shadowy deals that caused the crisis to the light of day," and "put a stop to taxpayer bailouts once and for all."{{cite news|last1=Dennis|first1=Brady|title=Obama signs financial overhaul into law|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/07/21/AR2010072100512.html|access-date=December 14, 2015|newspaper=The Washington Post|date=July 22, 2010}} Some liberals were disappointed that the law did not break up the country's largest banks or reinstate the Glass-Steagall Act, while many conservatives criticized the bill as a government overreach that could make the country less competitive. Under the bill, the Federal Reserve and other regulatory agencies were required to propose and implement several new regulatory rules, and battles over these rules continued throughout Obama's presidency.{{cite news|last1=Dean|first1=Nathan|title=Dodd-Frank at five years: Several key rules remain|url=https://www.bloomberg.com/professional/blog/dodd-frank-at-five-years-several-key-rules-remain/|access-date=December 4, 2015|publisher=Bloomberg L.P.|date=July 21, 2015}} Obama 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.{{cite news|last1=Goldfarb|first1=Zachary|title=President Obama sounds ready to take on the big banks|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/post-politics/wp/2014/07/02/president-obama-sounds-ready-to-take-on-the-big-banks/|access-date=August 2, 2016|newspaper=The Washington Post|date=July 2, 2014}} Obama also signed the Credit CARD Act of 2009, which created new rules for credit card companies.{{cite news|title=Obama signs new rules for credit cards into law|url=https://www.nbcnews.com/id/wbna30884011|access-date=November 14, 2015|agency=AP|publisher=NBC|date=May 22, 2009}}

{{see also|Environmental policy of the United States|Marine policy of the Barack Obama administration}}

During his presidency, Obama described global warming as the greatest long-term threat facing the world.{{cite news|last1=Hirschfield Davis|first1=Julie|author1-link=Julie Hirschfield Davis|last2=Landler|first2=Mark|author2-link=Mark Landler|last3=Davenport|first3=Coral|title=Obama on Climate Change: The Trends Are 'Terrifying'|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2016/09/08/us/politics/obama-climate-change.html|access-date=September 9, 2016|work=The New York Times|date=September 8, 2016}} Obama 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.{{cite news|last1=Davenport|first1=Coral|title=Many Conservative Republicans Believe Climate Change Is a Real Threat|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2015/09/29/us/politics/survey-of-republican-voters-shows-a-majority-believe-in-climate-change.html|access-date=December 13, 2015|work=The New York Times|date=September 28, 2015}} Following his inauguration, Obama asked that Congress pass a bill to put a cap on domestic carbon emissions. After the House passed the American Clean Energy and Security Act in 2009, Obama sought to convince the Senate to pass the bill as well.{{cite news|agency=AP|title=Obama implores Senate to pass climate bill|url=https://www.nbcnews.com/id/wbna31565446|access-date=November 13, 2015|publisher=NBC|date=June 27, 2009}} The legislation would have required the US to cut greenhouse gas emissions by 17 percent by 2020 and by 83 percent by the middle of the 21st century. However, the bill was strongly opposed by Republicans and neither it nor a separate proposed bipartisan compromise{{cite magazine|last1=Lizza|first1=Ryan|author1-link=Ryan Lizza|title=As the World Burns|url=https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2010/10/11/as-the-world-burns|access-date=November 13, 2015|magazine=The New Yorker|date=October 11, 2010}} ever came up for a vote in the Senate.{{cite magazine|last1=Walsh|first1=Bryan|title=Why the Climate Bill Died|url=https://science.time.com/2010/07/26/why-the-climate-bill-died/|access-date=November 13, 2015|magazine=Time|date=July 26, 2010}} In 2013, Obama announced that he would bypass Congress by ordering the EPA to implement new carbon emissions limits.{{cite news|last1=Eilperin|first1=Juliet|title=Obama unveils ambitious agenda to combat climate change, bypassing Congress|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/obama-climate-strategy-represents-piecemeal-approach/2013/06/25/7bd9f20a-dd0a-11e2-bd83-e99e43c336ed_story.html|access-date=November 13, 2015|newspaper=The Washington Post|date=June 25, 2013}} The Clean Power Plan, unveiled in 2015, seeks to reduce US greenhouse gas emissions by 26 to 28 percent by 2025.{{cite news|last1=Davenport|first1=Carol|title=Obama's Strategy on Climate Change, Part of Global Deal, Is Revealed|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2015/04/01/us/obama-to-offer-major-blueprint-on-climate-change.html|access-date=November 13, 2015|work=The New York Times|date=March 31, 2015}} Obama also 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 also contributed to coal's decline. Obama 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.{{cite news|last1=Grunwald|first1=Michael|title=Inside the war on coal|url=http://www.politico.com/agenda/story/2015/05/inside-war-on-coal-000002|access-date=November 16, 2015|publisher=Politico}}

Obama's campaign to fight global warming found more success at the international level than in Congress. Obama attended the 2009 United Nations Climate Change Conference, which drafted the non-binding Copenhagen Accord as a successor to the Kyoto Protocol. The deal provided for the monitoring of carbon emissions among developing countries, but it did not include Obama's proposal to commit to cutting greenhouse gas emissions in half by 2050.{{cite news|last1=Eilperin|first1=Juliet|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/12/18/AR2009121800637.html|access-date=November 13, 2015|title=Climate deal falls short of key goals|newspaper=The Washington Post|date=December 19, 2009}} In 2014, Obama reached an agreement with China in which China pledged to reach peak carbon emission levels by 2030, while the US pledged to cut its emissions by 26–28 percent compared to its 2005 levels.{{cite news|last1=Landler|first1=Mark|author1-link=Mark Landler|title=U.S. and China Reach Climate Accord After Months of Talks|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2014/11/12/world/asia/china-us-xi-obama-apec.html|access-date=November 16, 2015|work=The New York Times|date=November 11, 2014}} The deal provided momentum for a potential multilateral global warming agreement among the world's largest carbon emitters.{{cite news|last1=Davenport|first1=Coral|title=Global Climate Pact Gains Momentum as China, U.S. and Brazil Detail Plans|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2015/07/01/world/americas/us-and-brazil-agree-on-climate-change-actions.html|access-date=November 16, 2015|work=The New York Times|date=June 30, 2015}} Many Republicans criticized Obama's climate goals as a potential drain on the economy.{{cite news|last1=Restuccia|first1=Andrew|title=GOP to attack climate pact at home and abroad|url=http://www.politico.com/story/2015/09/gop-congress-climate-pact-paris-213382|access-date=November 16, 2015|publisher=Politico|date=September 7, 2015}} At the 2015 United Nations Climate Change Conference, nearly every country in the world agreed to a landmark climate deal in which each nation committed lowering their greenhouse gas emissions.{{cite news|last1=Davenport|first1=Coral|title=Nations Approve Landmark Climate Accord in Paris|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2015/12/13/world/europe/climate-change-accord-paris.html|access-date=December 13, 2015|work=The New York Times|date=December 12, 2015}}{{cite news|last1=Mufson|first1=Steven|title=Paris accord is a big win for Obama, even as climate dangers still loom|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/economy/paris-accord-is-a-big-win-for-obama-even-as-climate-dangers-still-loom/2015/12/12/bd6c5758-a044-11e5-8728-1af6af208198_story.html|access-date=December 13, 2015|newspaper=The Washington Post|date=December 12, 2015}} The Paris Agreement created a universal accounting system for emissions, required each country to monitor its emissions, and required each country to create a plan to reduce its emissions.{{Cite journal|last=Milkoreit|first=Manjana|date=2019|title=The Paris Agreement on Climate Change—Made in USA?|journal=Perspectives on Politics|language=en|volume=17|issue=4|pages=1019–1037|doi=10.1017/S1537592719000951|issn=1537-5927|doi-access=free}} Several climate negotiators noted that the US-China climate deal and the EPA's emission limits helped make the deal possible. In 2016, the international community agreed to the Kigali accord, an amendment to the Montreal Protocol which sought to reduce the use of HFCs, organic compounds that contribute to global warming.{{cite news|last1=Davenport|first1=Coral|title=Nations, Fighting Powerful Refrigerant That Warms Planet, Reach Landmark Deal|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2016/10/15/world/africa/kigali-deal-hfc-air-conditioners.html|access-date=October 17, 2016|work=The New York Times|date=October 15, 2016}}

From the beginning of his presidency, Obama took several actions to raise vehicle fuel efficiency in the United States. In 2009, Obama announced a plan to increase the Corporate Average Fuel Economy to {{convert|35|mpgUS|L/100km}}], a 40 percent increase from 2009 levels.{{cite news| url=https://www.nytimes.com/2009/05/19/business/19emissions.html | work=The New York Times | title=Obama to Toughen Rules on Emissions and Mileage | first=John M. | last=Broder | date=May 19, 2009 | access-date=May 22, 2010}} Both environmentalists and auto industry officials largely welcomed the move, as the plan raised national emission standards but provided the single national efficiency standard that auto industry officials group had long desired. In 2012, Obama set even higher standards, mandating an average fuel efficiency of {{convert|54.5|mpgUS|L/100km}}.{{cite news|last1=Vlasic|first1=Bill|title=U.S. Sets Higher Fuel Efficiency Standards|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2012/08/29/business/energy-environment/obama-unveils-tighter-fuel-efficiency-standards.html|access-date=August 19, 2016|work=The New York Times|date=August 28, 2012}} Obama also signed the "cash-for-clunkers" bill, which provided incentives to consumers to trade in older, less fuel-efficient cars for more efficient cars. The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 provided $54 billion in funds to encourage domestic renewable energy production, make federal buildings more energy-efficient, improve the electricity grid, repair public housing, and weatherize modest-income homes.{{cite web|url=http://waxman.house.gov/UploadedFiles/ARRA.pdf|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110106095705/http://waxman.house.gov/UploadedFiles/ARRA.pdf|archive-date=January 6, 2011|date=April 20, 2009|title=American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009|access-date=May 14, 2012}} Obama also promoted the use of plug-in electric vehicles, and 400,000 electric cars had been sold by the end of 2015.{{cite news|last1=Shepardson|first1=David|title=Electric vehicle sales fall far short of Obama goal|url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-autos-electric-obama-insight-idUSKCN0UY0F0|access-date=January 21, 2016|publisher=Reuters|date=January 20, 2016}}

According to a report by The American Lung Association, there was a "major improvement" in air quality under Obama.{{Cite news|url=https://www.factcheck.org/2017/09/air-quality-improve-obama/|title=Did Air Quality Improve Under Obama? - FactCheck.org|date=September 21, 2017|work=FactCheck.org|access-date=April 4, 2018|language=en-US}}

{{Main|Economic policy of the Barack Obama administration}}

{{see also|Great Recession|Economy of the United States}}

Upon entering office, Obama focused on handling the 2008 financial crisis and the subsequent Great Recession that had begun before his election,{{cite news|url=https://money.cnn.com/2009/01/19/news/economy/obama_first_week/|title=Obama's top priority: the economy|last=Henry|first=Ed|date=January 19, 2009|publisher=CNN|access-date=February 9, 2009}}{{cite news|url=https://abcnews.go.com/Business/Business/story?id=6568008&page=1|title=Obama Pushes Economic Plan, Saying It Can't Wait|last=Goldman|first=Russell|author2=Jake Tapper|date=January 5, 2009|work=ABC News|access-date=February 9, 2009}} which was generally regarded as the worst economic downturn since the Great Depression.{{cite news|last1=Puzzanghera|first1=Jim|title=Shocked into reality by the Great Recession|url=https://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-recession-psyche-20140627-story.html|access-date=August 2, 2016|newspaper=LA Times|date=June 27, 2014}} On February 17, 2009, Obama 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. The tax provisions of the law, including a $116 billion income tax cut, temporarily reduced taxes for 98% of taxpayers, bringing tax rates to their lowest levels in 60 years.{{cite news| last = Condon | first = Stephanie| title = What's Obama Doing to Your Taxes? | work = CBS News| date = April 15, 2010| url = https://www.cbsnews.com/news/whats-obama-doing-to-your-taxes/| access-date =November 13, 2010 }}{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2010/10/19/us/politics/19taxes.html|title=From Obama, the Tax Cut Nobody Heard Of|first=Michael|last=Cooper|date=October 18, 2010|newspaper=The New York Times}} The Obama administration would later argue that the stimulus saved the United States from a "double-dip" recession.{{cite magazine|last1=Grunwald|first1=Michael|title=5 Years After Stimulus, Obama Says It Worked|url=https://time.com/8362/economic-stimulus-recovery-act-anniversary-obama/|access-date=December 4, 2015|magazine=Time|date=February 17, 2014}} Obama asked for a second major stimulus package in December 2009,{{cite magazine|last1=Scherer|first1=Michael|title=Calling for a New Stimulus, Obama Is Ready to Rumble|url=https://content.time.com/time/politics/article/0,8599,1946482,00.html|access-date=December 4, 2015|magazine=Time|date=December 9, 2009}} but no major second stimulus bill passed. Obama also launched a second bailout of US automakers, possibly saving General Motors and Chrysler from bankruptcy at the cost of $9.3 billion.Austan D. Goolsbee, and Alan B. Krueger. "A retrospective look at rescuing and restructuring General Motors and Chrysler." Journal of Economic Perspectives 29.2 (2015): 3–24. [https://pubs.aeaweb.org/doi/pdfplus/10.1257/jep.29.2.3 online]{{cite news|last1=Snavely|first1=Brent|title=Final tally: Taxpayers auto bailout loss $9.3B|url=https://www.usatoday.com/story/money/cars/2014/12/30/auto-bailout-tarp-gm-chrysler/21061251/|access-date=November 14, 2015|work=USA Today|date=December 13, 2014}} For homeowners in danger of defaulting on their mortgage due to the subprime mortgage crisis, Obama launched several programs, including HARP and HAMP.{{cite news|last1=Christie|first1=Les|title=Obama's housing scorecard|url=https://money.cnn.com/2012/09/14/real_estate/obama-housing-market/|access-date=November 19, 2015|publisher=CNN|date=October 16, 2012}}{{cite news|last1=Orton|first1=Kathy|title=Homeowners get more time to take advantage of HAMP, HARP|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/where-we-live/wp/2015/05/08/homeowners-get-more-time-to-take-advantage-of-hamp-harp/|access-date=November 19, 2015|newspaper=The Washington Post|date=May 8, 2015}} Obama re-appointed Ben Bernanke as Chair of the Federal Reserve Board in 2009,{{cite news|last1=Irwin|first1=Neil|title=Obama Picks Bernanke for Second Term as Federal Reserve Chairman|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/08/25/AR2009082501115.html|access-date=November 20, 2015|newspaper=The Washington Post|date=August 26, 2009}} and appointed Janet Yellen to succeed Bernanke in 2013.{{cite news|last1=Epstein|first1=Jennifer|title=Obama picks Yellen as next Fed chair|url=http://www.politico.com/story/2013/10/janet-yellen-federal-reserve-nomination-098083|access-date=November 20, 2015|publisher=Politico|date=October 9, 2013}} Short-term interest rates remained near zero for much of Obama's presidency, and the Federal Reserve did not raise interest rates during Obama's presidency until December 2015.{{cite news|last1=Applebaum|first1=Binyamin|title=Fed Raises Key Interest Rate for First Time in Almost a Decade|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2015/12/17/business/economy/fed-interest-rates.html|access-date=December 16, 2015|work=The New York Times|date=December 16, 2015}}

There was a sustained increase of the US unemployment rate during the early months of the administration,{{cite news |url= http://data.bls.gov/PDQ/servlet/SurveyOutputServlet?request_action=wh&graph_name=LN_cpsbref3| title= Labor Force Statistics from the Current Population Survey| date= August 1, 2009| work= United States Department of Labor Bureau of Labor Statistics}} as multi-year economic stimulus efforts continued.{{cite news| url= http://blogs.abcnews.com/george/2009/07/biden-we-misread-the-economy-.html|first=George|last=Stephanopoulos|author-link=George Stephanopoulos| title= Biden: We 'Misread the Economy'|date= July 5, 2009| work=George's Bottom Line|publisher=ABC News|access-date=April 20, 2010}}{{cite news| url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/01/12/AR2010011203737.html | newspaper=The Washington Post | title=Economic stimulus has created or saved nearly 2 million jobs, White House says | first=Alec | last=MacGillis | date=January 13, 2010 | access-date=May 22, 2010}} The unemployment rate reached a peak in October 2009 at 10.0%.{{cite web|url=https://fred.stlouisfed.org/series/UNRATE|title=Civilian Unemployment Rate|last=US Bureau of Labor Statistics|date=January 1, 1948|website=FRED, Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis}} However, the economy added non-farm jobs for a record 75 straight months between October 2010 and December 2016, and the unemployment rate fell to 4.7% in December 2016.{{cite news|last1=Udland|first1=Myles|title=President Obama's economic legacy has just been cemented|url=https://finance.yahoo.com/news/president-obamas-economic-legacy-has-just-been-cemented-162815371.html|access-date=January 6, 2017|publisher=Yahoo|date=January 6, 2017}} The recovery from the Great Recession was marked by a lower labor force participation rate, some economists attributing the lower participation rate partially to an aging population and people staying in school longer, as well as long-term structural demographic changes.{{cite news|last1=Soergel|first1=Andrew|title=Where are all the workers?|url=https://www.usnews.com/news/the-report/articles/2015/07/16/unemployment-is-low-but-more-workers-are-leaving-the-workforce|access-date=November 15, 2015|publisher=U.S. News & World Report|date=July 16, 2015}} The recovery also laid bare the growing income inequality in the United States,{{cite news|last1=Leonhardt|first1=David|title=Inequality Has Actually Not Risen Since the Financial Crisis|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2015/02/17/upshot/inequality-has-actually-not-risen-since-the-financial-crisis.html|access-date=November 15, 2015|work=The New York Times|date=February 17, 2015}} which the Obama administration highlighted as a major problem.{{cite news|last1=Harwood|first1=John|author1-link=John Harwood (journalist)|title=Obama's Economic Report Focuses on Income Inequality|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2015/02/20/business/economy/obamas-economic-report-focuses-on-income-inequality.html|access-date=November 15, 2015|work=The New York Times|date=February 19, 2015}} The federal minimum wage increased during Obama's presidency to $7.25 per hour;{{cite news|last1=Smith|first1=Aaron|title=Minimum wage hike: More money or fewer jobs?|url=https://money.cnn.com/2009/07/24/news/economy/minimum_wage/|access-date=May 18, 2016|publisher=CNN|date=July 19, 2009}} in his second term, Obama advocated for another increase to $12 per hour.{{cite news|last1=Devaney|first1=Tim|title=Dems bet 2016 on $12 minimum wage|url=https://thehill.com/policy/finance/other/241019-dems-bet-on-push-for-12-min-wage-ahead-of-2016/|access-date=May 18, 2016|work=The Hill|date=May 5, 2015}}

File:Obama and Bill Clinton.jpg and Senior Advisor Valerie Jarrett about job creation in July 2010]]

GDP growth returned in the third quarter of 2009, expanding at a 1.6% pace, followed by a 5.0% increase in the fourth quarter.{{cite web |url=http://bea.gov/national/nipaweb/TableView.asp?SelectedTable=1&ViewSeries=NO&Java=no&Request3Place=N&3Place=N&FromView=YES&Freq=Qtr&FirstYear=2009&LastYear=2010&3Place=N&Update=Update&JavaBox=no#Mid |title=Percent Change in Real Gross Domestic Product (Quarterly) |work=National Income and Product Accounts Table |publisher=Bureau of Economic Analysis |access-date=April 7, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110512014536/http://bea.gov/national/nipaweb/TableView.asp?SelectedTable=1&ViewSeries=NO&Java=no&Request3Place=N&3Place=N&FromView=YES&Freq=Qtr&FirstYear=2009&LastYear=2010&3Place=N&Update=Update&JavaBox=no#Mid |archive-date=May 12, 2011 }} Growth continued in 2010, posting an increase of 3.7% in the first quarter, with lesser gains throughout the rest of the year. The country's real GDP grew by about 2% in 2011, 2012, 2013, and 2014, peaking at 2.9% in 2015.{{cite news|title=Obama's economy in 10 charts|url=https://money.cnn.com/gallery/news/economy/2015/10/28/obama-economy-10-charts/|access-date=November 15, 2015|publisher=CNN|date=October 28, 2015}}{{cite web|url=https://fred.stlouisfed.org/series/A191RL1A225NBEA|title=Real Gross Domestic Product|last=US Bureau of Economic Analysis|date=January 1, 1930|website=FRED, Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis}} In the aftermath of the recession, median household income (adjusted for inflation) declined during Obama's first term, before recovering to a new record high in his final year.{{cite web|url=https://fred.stlouisfed.org/series/MEHOINUSA672N|title=Real Median Household Income in the United States|last=US Census Bureau|date=January 1, 1984|website=FRED, Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis}} The poverty rate peaked at 15.1% in 2010 but declined to 12.7% in 2016, which was still higher than the 12.5% pre-recession figure of 2007.{{cite web|url=https://www.census.gov/newsroom/releases/archives/income_wealth/cb11-157.html|title=Income, Poverty and Health Insurance Coverage in the United States: 2010 – Income & Wealth – Newsroom – U.S. Census Bureau|first=US Census Bureau Public Information|last=Office|website=U.S. Census Bureau}}{{cite web |url=https://www.census.gov/prod/2008pubs/p60-235.pdf |title=Income, Poverty, and Health Insurance Coverage in the United States: 2007 |work=census.gov }}{{cite web|url=https://www.census.gov/library/publications/2018/demo/p60-263.html|title=Income and Poverty in the United States: 2017 |website=U.S. Census Bureau}} The relatively small GDP growth rates in the United States and other developed countries following the Great Recession left economists and others wondering whether US growth rates would ever return to the levels seen in the second half of the twentieth century.{{cite news|last1=Lee|first1=Timothy|title=The big puzzle in economics today: why is the economy growing so slowly?|url=https://www.vox.com/2016/8/1/12131216/theories-gdp-growth-slow|access-date=August 1, 2016|publisher=Vox|date=August 1, 2016}}{{cite news|last1=Irwin|first1=Neil|title=We're in a Low-Growth World. How Did We Get Here?|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2016/08/07/upshot/were-in-a-low-growth-world-how-did-we-get-here.html|access-date=August 7, 2016|work=The New York Times|date=August 6, 2016}}

{{see also|Taxation in the United States}}

Obama'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. Those tax cuts were set to expire during Obama's presidency since they were originally passed using a Congressional maneuver known as reconciliation, and had to fulfill the long-term deficit requirements of the "Byrd rule". During the lame duck session of the 111th Congress, Obama and Republicans wrangled over the ultimate fate of the cuts. Obama 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.{{cite news | title = Senate Republicans block 9/11 health bill|work=Reuters| date = December 9, 2010| url = https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-congress-firefighters-idUSTRE6B903120101210| access-date = May 14, 2012| first=Donna| last=Smith}}{{Cite news| last = Stirewalt| first = Chris| title = Today's Power Play: Republicans and Democrats Play Chicken With Lame Duck| publisher = Fox News Channel| date = December 1, 2010| url = http://politics.blogs.foxnews.com/2010/12/01/todays-power-play-republicans-and-democrats-play-chicken-lame-duck| access-date = December 20, 2010| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20101204115222/http://politics.blogs.foxnews.com/2010/12/01/todays-power-play-republicans-and-democrats-play-chicken-lame-duck| archive-date = December 4, 2010}} Obama and the Republican Congressional leadership reached a deal that included a two-year extension of all the tax cuts, a 13-month extension of unemployment insurance, a one-year reduction in the FICA payroll tax, and other measures.{{cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2010/12/08/us/politics/08cong.html | title=Democrats Skeptical of Obama on New Tax Plan |author=Herszenhorn, David M. | author2=Stolberg, Sheryl Gay |newspaper=The New York Times |date=December 7, 2010}} Obama ultimately persuaded many wary Democrats to support the bill, though many liberals such as Bernie Sanders continued to oppose it.{{cite web |first=Nick |last=Wing |url=https://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/12/10/bernie-sanders-filibuster_n_795087.html |title=Bernie Sanders Filibuster: Senator Stalls Tax Cut Deal |date=December 10, 2010 |work=The Huffington Post }} The $858 billion Tax Relief, Unemployment Insurance Reauthorization, and Job Creation Act of 2010 passed with bipartisan majorities in both houses of Congress and was signed into law by Obama on December 17, 2010.{{cite news | url=http://www.cnn.com/2010/POLITICS/12/17/tax.deal/index.html | title=Obama signs tax deal into law | publisher=CNN | date=December 17, 2010 | access-date=December 17, 2010}}{{cite news|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/12/16/AR2010121606672.html |title=Congress votes to extend Bush-era tax cuts until '12 |newspaper=The Washington Post |date= December 17, 2010|access-date=December 17, 2010}}

Shortly after Obama's 2012 re-election, Congressional Republicans and Obama again faced off over the final fate of the Bush tax cuts. Republicans sought to make all tax cuts permanent, while Obama sought to extend the tax cuts only for those making under $250,000. Obama and Congressional Republicans came to an agreement on the American Taxpayer Relief Act of 2012, which made permanent the tax cuts for individuals making less than $400,000 a year (or less than $450,000 for couples). For earnings greater than that amount, the income tax increased from 35% to 39.6%, which was the top rate before the passage of the Bush tax cuts.{{cite news|last1=Yellin|first1=Jessica|title=Fiscal cliff deal stops many tax hikes, but leaves big issues pending|url=https://money.cnn.com/2013/01/01/news/economy/fiscal-cliff-senate-bill/index.html|access-date=November 17, 2015|publisher=CNN|date=January 2, 2013}} The deal also permanently indexed the alternative minimum tax for inflation, limited deductions for individuals making more than $250,000 ($300,000 for couples), permanently set the estate tax exemption at $5.12 million (indexed to inflation), and increased the top estate tax rate from 35% to 40%. Though many Republicans did not like the deal, the bill passed the Republican House in large part due to the fact that the failure to pass any bill would have resulted in the total expiration of the Bush tax cuts.{{cite news|last1=Steinhauer|first1=Jennifer|title=Divided House Passes Tax Deal in End to Latest Fiscal Standoff|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2013/01/02/us/politics/house-takes-on-fiscal-cliff.html|access-date=November 13, 2015|work=The New York Times|date=January 1, 2013}}{{cite magazine|last1=Cantor|first1=Eric|title=The House of Pain|url=https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2013/03/04/the-house-of-pain|access-date=November 13, 2015|magazine=The New Yorker|date=March 4, 2013}}

{{see also|United States federal budget}}

File:John Boehner official portrait.jpg of Ohio was the powerful Speaker of the House in 2011–2015.]]

US government debt grew substantially during the Great Recession, as government revenues fell. Obama largely rejected the austerity policies followed by many European countries.{{cite news|last1=Calmes|first1=Jackie|title=Lines Blur in U.S.-Europe Debate on Austerity|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2013/06/17/business/economy/for-g-8-meeting-talk-of-economy-but-syria-looms-large.html|access-date=December 13, 2015|work=The New York Times|date=June 16, 2013}} US government debt grew from 52% of GDP when Obama took office in 2009 to 74% in 2014, with most of the growth in debt coming between 2009 and 2012. In 2010, Obama ordered the creation of the National Commission on Fiscal Responsibility and Reform (also known as the "Simpson-Bowles Commission") in order to find ways to reduce the country's debt.{{cite news|last1=O'Keefe|first1=Ed|title=What is the Simpson-Bowles Commission? (and why does it still matter?)|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/2chambers/wp/2012/11/27/what-is-the-simpson-bowles-commission-and-why-does-it-still-matter/|access-date=November 19, 2015|newspaper=The Washington Post|date=November 27, 2012}} The commission ultimately released a report that called for a mix of spending cuts and tax increases. Notable recommendations of the report include a cut in military spending, a scaling back of tax deductions for mortgages and employer-provided health insurance, a raise of the Social Security retirement age, and reduced spending on Medicare, Medicaid, and federal employees. The proposal never received a vote in Congress, but it served as a template for future plans to reduce the national debt.{{cite news|last1=Faler|first1=Brian|title=The ghost of Simpson-Bowles|url=http://www.politico.com/story/2014/10/the-ghost-of-simpson-bowles-haunts-2014-112199|access-date=November 19, 2015|publisher=Politico|date=October 25, 2014}}

After taking control of the House in the 2010 elections, Congressional Republicans demanded spending cuts in return for raising the United States debt ceiling, the statutory limit on the total amount of debt that the Treasury Department can issue. The 2011 debt-ceiling crisis developed as Obama and Congressional Democrats demanded a "clean" debt-ceiling increase that did not include spending cuts.{{cite web|last=Schroeder |first=Peter |url=https://thehill.com/policy/finance/88891-white-house-obama-hasnt-changed-on-clean-debt-vote/ |title=White House: Obama hasn't changed on 'clean' debt vote |work = The Hill | date = April 15, 2011 |access-date=November 14, 2015}} Though some Democrats argued that Obama could unilaterally raise the debt ceiling under the terms of the Fourteenth Amendment,{{cite news|url=https://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/07/27/house-democratic-leaders-urge-obama-to-use-14th-amendment_n_910878.html |title=House Democratic Leaders To Obama: Use The 14th Amendment |work=The Huffington Post |date=July 27, 2011 |access-date=November 15, 2011 |author=Jennifer Bendery}} Obama chose to negotiate with Congressional Republicans. Obama and Speaker of the House John Boehner attempted to negotiate a "grand bargain" to cut the deficit, reform entitlement programs, and re-write the tax code, but the negotiations eventually collapsed due to ideological differences between the Democratic and Republican leaders.{{cite news|last1=Wallsten|first1=Peter|title=Obama's evolution: Behind the failed 'grand bargain' on the debt|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/obamas-evolution-behind-the-failed-grand-bargain-on-the-debt/2012/03/15/gIQAHyyfJS_story.html|access-date=November 15, 2015|newspaper=The Washington Post|date=March 17, 2012}}{{cite news|last1=Bai|first1=Matt|title=Obama vs. Boehner: Who Killed the Debt Deal?|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2012/04/01/magazine/obama-vs-boehner-who-killed-the-debt-deal.html|access-date=November 15, 2015|work=The New York Times|date=March 28, 2012}}{{cite news|last1=Thrush|first1=Glenn|author1-link=Glenn Thrush|title=Boehner and Obama: Caught in a bad bromance|url=http://www.politico.com/story/2015/09/obama-boehner-bromance-214094|access-date=November 15, 2015|publisher=Politico|date=September 25, 2015}} Congress instead passed the Budget Control Act of 2011, which raised the debt ceiling, provided for domestic and military spending cuts, and established the bipartisan Joint Select Committee on Deficit Reduction to propose further spending cuts.{{cite news|last1=Montopoli|first1=Brian|title=Obama signs debt limit bill after nasty fight|url=http://www.cbsnews.com/news/obama-signs-debt-limit-bill-after-nasty-fight/|access-date=August 19, 2016|work=CBS News|date=August 2, 2011}} As the Joint Select Committee on Deficit Reduction failed to reach an agreement on further cuts, domestic and military spending cuts known as the "sequester" took effect starting in 2013.{{cite news|last1=Smith|first1=Matt|title=CNN Explains: Sequestration|url=http://www.cnn.com/2013/02/06/politics/cnn-explains-sequestration/|access-date=August 19, 2016|publisher=CNN|date=February 19, 2013}}

In October 2013, the government shut down for two weeks as Republicans and Democrats were unable to agree on a budget. House Republicans passed a budget that would defund Obamacare, but Senate Democrats refused to pass any budget that defunded Obamacare.{{cite news | url=https://www.nytimes.com/2013/10/01/us/politics/congress-shutdown-debate.html | title=Government Near Broad Shutdown in Budget Impasse | work=The New York Times | date=September 30, 2013 | last1=Weisman | first1=Jonathan | last2=Peters | first2=Jeremy W. | access-date=September 30, 2013}} Meanwhile, the country faced another debt ceiling crisis. Ultimately the two sides agreed to a continuing resolution that re-opened the government and suspended the debt ceiling.{{cite news|last1=Weisman|first1=Jonathan|last2=Parker|first2=Ashley|title=Republicans Back Down, Ending Crisis Over Shutdown and Debt Limit|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2013/10/17/us/congress-budget-debate.html|access-date=August 19, 2016|work=The New York Times|date=October 16, 2013}} Months after passing the continuing resolution, Congress passed the Bipartisan Budget Act of 2013 and an omnibus spending bill to fund the government through 2014.{{cite news|last1=Montgomery|first1=Lori|title=Senate passes bipartisan budget agreement|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/senate-poised-to-pass-bipartisan-budget-agreement/2013/12/18/54fd3a1a-6807-11e3-a0b9-249bbb34602c_story.html|access-date=August 19, 2016|newspaper=The Washington Post|date=December 18, 2013}} In 2015, after John Boehner announced that he would resign as Speaker of the House, Congress passed a bill that set government spending targets and suspended the debt limit until after Obama left office.{{cite news|last1=Herszenhorn|first1=David|title=Congress Strikes a Budget Deal With President|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2015/10/27/us/politics/congress-and-white-house-near-deal-on-budget.html|access-date=November 14, 2015|work=The New York Times|date=October 26, 2015}}

{{see also|LGBT rights in the United States}}

File:White House rainbow for SCOTUS ruling on same-sex marriage.jpg lit with the LGBT rainbow flag celebrating the Supreme Court's decision in Obergefell v. Hodges, legalizing same-sex marriage in the United States, June 26, 2015]]

During his presidency, Obama, Congress, and the Supreme Court all contributed to a major expansion of LGBT rights. In 2009, Obama signed the Matthew Shepard and James Byrd Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act, which expanded hate crime laws to cover crimes committed because of the victim's sexual orientation.{{cite news|last1=Zeleny|first1=Jeff|author1-link=Jeff Zeleny|title=Obama Signs Hate Crimes Bill|url=http://thecaucus.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/10/28/obama-signs-hate-crimes-bill/|access-date=July 22, 2016|work=The New York Times|date=October 28, 2009}} In December 2010, Obama 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.{{cite web|author=Jesse Lee |url=https://obamawhitehouse.archives.gov/blog/2010/12/22/president-signs-repeal-dont-ask-dont-tell-out-many-we-are-one |work=whitehouse.gov |title=The President Signs Repeal of "Don't Ask Don't Tell": "Out of Many, We Are One"|date=December 22, 2010 |via=National Archives |access-date=December 22, 2010}} Obama also supported the passage of ENDA, which would ban discrimination against employees on the basis of gender or sexual identity for all companies with 15 or more employees,{{cite news|last1=Sink|first1=Justin|title=Obama urges ENDA vote in House|url=https://thehill.com/homenews/administration/189617-obama-urges-enda-vote-in-house/|access-date=November 14, 2015|work=The Hill|date=November 7, 2013}} and the similar but more comprehensive Equality Act.{{cite news|last1=Benen|first1=Steve|author-link1=Steve Benen|title=Obama White House throws support behind Equality Act|url=https://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow-show/obama-white-house-throws-support-behind-equality-act|access-date=November 14, 2015|publisher=MSNBC|date=November 12, 2015}} Neither bill passed Congress. In May 2012, Obama became the first sitting president to support same-sex marriage, shortly after Vice President Joe Biden had also expressed support for the institution.{{cite news|last1=Gast|first1=Phil|title=Obama announces he supports same-sex marriage|url=http://www.cnn.com/2012/05/09/politics/obama-same-sex-marriage/|access-date=November 14, 2015|publisher=CNN|date=May 9, 2012}} 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.{{cite web|title=U.S. Circuit and District Court Judges: Profile of Select Characteristics Barry J. McMillion|url=https://fas.org/sgp/crs/misc/R43426.pdf|publisher=Congressional Research Service|access-date=May 11, 2018|page=1}} In 2015, the Supreme Court ruled that the Constitution guarantees same-sex couples the right to marry in the case of Obergefell v. Hodges. The Obama Administration filed an amicus brief in support of gay marriage and Obama personally congratulated the plaintiff.{{cite news|last1=Scott|first1=Eugene|title=Barack Obama calls gay marriage case plaintiff Jim Obergefell|url=http://www.cnn.com/2015/06/26/politics/obama-calls-gay-marriage-ruling-plaintiff-jim-obergefell/|access-date=November 14, 2015|publisher=CNN|date=June 30, 2015}} Obama also issued dozens of executive orders intended to help LGBT Americans,{{cite news|last1=Applebaum|first1=Binyamin|last2=Shear|first2=Michael|title=Once Skeptical of Executive Power, Obama Has Come to Embrace It|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2016/08/14/us/politics/obama-era-legacy-regulation.html|access-date=August 18, 2016|work=The New York Times|date=August 13, 2016}} including a 2010 order that extended full benefits to same-sex partners of federal employees. A 2014 order prohibited discrimination against employees of federal contractors on the basis of sexual orientation or gender identity.{{cite news|last1=Diamond|first1=Jeremy|title=Obama bars federal contractors from LGBT discrimination|url=http://www.cnn.com/2014/07/21/politics/obama-lgbt-discrimination-executive-order/|access-date=November 14, 2015|publisher=CNN|date=July 21, 2014}} In 2015, Secretary of Defense Ash Carter ended the ban on women in combat roles,{{cite news|last1=Rosenberg|first1=Matthew|last2=Phillips|first2=Dave|title=All Combat Roles Now Open to Women, Defense Secretary Says|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2015/12/04/us/politics/combat-military-women-ash-carter.html|access-date=September 8, 2016|work=The New York Times|date=December 3, 2015}} and in 2016, he ended the ban on transgender individuals openly serving in the military.{{cite news|last1=Rizzo|first1=Jennifer|last2=Cohen|first2=Zachary|title=Pentagon ends transgender ban|url=http://www.cnn.com/2016/06/30/politics/transgender-ban-lifted-us-military/|access-date=August 25, 2016|publisher=CNN|date=June 30, 2016}} On the international stage, Obama advocated for gay rights, particularly in Africa.{{cite news|last1=Onishi|first1=Norimitsu|title=Obama Kenya Trip Sets Off Gay Rights Debate in Africa|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2015/07/22/world/africa/africans-to-welcome-obama-but-not-a-scolding-on-gay-rights.html|access-date=November 14, 2015|work=The New York Times|date=July 21, 2015}}

{{Further|No Child Left Behind Act#Obama reforms 2010}}

The Great Recession of 2008–09 caused a sharp decline in tax revenues in all cities and states. The response was to cut education budgets. Obama's $800 billion stimulus package included $100 billion for public schools, which every state used to protect its educational budget. However, in terms of sponsoring innovation, Obama and his Education Secretary Arne Duncan pursued K-12 education reform through the Race to the Top grant program. With over $15 billion of grants at stake, 34 states quickly revised their education laws according to the proposals of advanced educational reformers. In the competition points were awarded for allowing charter schools to multiply, for compensating teachers on a merit basis including student test scores, and for adopting higher educational standards. There were incentives for states to establish college and career-ready standards, which in practice meant adopting the Common Core State Standards Initiative that had been developed on a bipartisan basis by the National Governors Association, and the Council of Chief State School Officers. The criteria were not mandatory, they were incentives to improve opportunities to get a grant. Most states revised their laws accordingly, even though they realized it was unlikely they would when a highly competitive new grant. Race to the Top had strong bipartisan support, with centrist elements from both parties. It was opposed by the left wing of the Democratic Party, and by the right wing of the Republican Party, and criticized for centralizing too much power in Washington. Complaints also came from middle-class families, who were annoyed at the increasing emphasis on teaching to the test, rather than encouraging teachers to show creativity and stimulating students' imagination.{{cite book |first=Jonathan |last=Zimmerman |chapter=Education in the Age of Obama: The Paradox of Consensus |editor=Zelizer |title=The Presidency of Barack Obama |pages=111–126 |jstor=j.ctvc777dh.12 |year=2018 |isbn=978-0-691-16028-3 |publisher=Princeton University Press }}{{cite journal |doi=10.1177/0895904811425911 |title=Stimulating Reform |journal=Educational Policy |volume=26 |pages=136–159 |year=2012 |last1=McGuinn |first1=Patrick |s2cid=154566214 }}Patrick McGuinn, . "From no child left behind to the every student succeeds act: Federalism and the education legacy of the Obama administration." Publius 46.3 (2016): 392-415. [https://www.academia.edu/download/46313792/Publius-2016-McGuinn-publius-pjw014.pdf online]{{Dead link|date=April 2024 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}

Obama also advocated for universal pre-kindergarten programs,{{cite news|last1=Badger|first1=Emily|title=Why conservatives should get behind Obama's push for universal Pre-K|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/wonk/wp/2015/02/02/why-conservatives-should-get-behind-obamas-push-for-universal-pre-k/|access-date=November 16, 2015|newspaper=The Washington Post|date=February 2, 2015}} and two free years of community college for everyone.{{cite news|last1=Hirschfield Davis|first1=Julie|author1-link=Julie Hirschfield Davis|title=Obama Will Seek to Raise Taxes on Wealthy to Finance Cuts for Middle Class|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2015/01/18/us/president-obama-will-seek-to-reduce-taxes-for-middle-class.html|access-date=November 17, 2015|work=The New York Times|date=January 17, 2015}} Through her Let's Move program and advocacy of healthier school lunches, First Lady Michelle Obama focused attention on childhood obesity, which was three times higher in 2008 than it had been in 1974.{{cite news|last1=Liptak|first1=Kevin|title=Michelle Obama's Let's Move turns 5; Is it working?|url=http://www.cnn.com/2015/04/06/politics/michelle-obamas-lets-move-turns-5-is-it-working/|access-date=December 19, 2015|publisher=CNN|date=April 6, 2015}} In December 2015, Obama 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.{{cite news|last1=Hirschfield Davis|first1=Julie|author1-link=Julie Hirschfield Davis|title=President Obama Signs Into Law a Rewrite of No Child Left Behind|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2015/12/11/us/politics/president-obama-signs-into-law-a-rewrite-of-no-child-left-behind.html|access-date=December 11, 2015|work=The New York Times|date=December 10, 2015}} The law also ended the use of waivers by the Education Secretary. In post-secondary education, Obama signed the Health Care and Education Reconciliation Act of 2010, which ended the role of private banks in lending out federally insured student loans,{{cite news| url=http://prescriptions.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/03/30/the-last-piece-in-place/ | work=The New York Times | title=The Last Piece in Place | first=David M. | last=Herszenhorn | date=March 30, 2010 | access-date=May 22, 2010}} 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.{{cite news|last=Madison|first=Lucy |url=https://www.cbsnews.com/news/who-will-benefit-from-obamas-student-loan-plan/|title=Who will benefit from Obama's student loan plan? |work=CBS News |date=October 26, 2011 |access-date=May 14, 2012}} He also 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.{{cite news|last1=Grasgreen|first1=Allie|title=Obama pushes for-profit colleges to the brink|url=http://www.politico.com/story/2015/07/barack-obama-pushes-for-profit-colleges-to-the-brink-119613|access-date=January 11, 2016|publisher=Politico|date=July 1, 2015}}

{{see also|Immigration to the United States}}

From the beginning of his presidency, Obama supported comprehensive immigration reform, including a pathway to citizenship for many immigrants illegally residing in the United States.{{cite news|last1=Thompson|first1=Cheryl|title=Obama Says Immigration Reform Is a Priority, but Won't Happen Soon|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/08/10/AR2009081001797.html|access-date=November 14, 2015|newspaper=The Washington Post|date=August 11, 2009}} However, Congress did not pass a comprehensive immigration bill during Obama's tenure, and Obama turned to executive actions. In the 2010 lame-duck session, Obama supported passage of the DREAM Act, which passed the House but failed to overcome a Senate filibuster in a 55–41 vote in favor of the bill.{{cite news|last1=Herszenhorn|first1=David M.|title=Senate Blocks Bill for Young Illegal Immigrants|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2010/12/19/us/politics/19immig.html|access-date=November 14, 2015|work=The New York Times|date=December 18, 2010}} In 2013, the Senate passed an immigration bill with a path to citizenship, but the House did not vote on the bill.{{cite magazine|last1=Lizza|first1=Ryan|author1-link=Ryan Lizza|title=How the Senate Passed Immigration Reform|url=https://www.newyorker.com/news/news-desk/how-the-senate-passed-immigration-reform|access-date=November 16, 2015|magazine=The New Yorker|date=June 28, 2013}}{{cite news|last1=Gibson|first1=Ginger|title=Boehner: No vote on Senate immigration bill|url=http://www.politico.com/story/2013/07/john-boehner-house-immigration-vote-093845|access-date=November 16, 2015|publisher=Politico|date=July 8, 2013}} In 2012, Obama 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.{{cite news|last1=Markon|first1=Jerry|title=Obama's 2012 DACA move offers a window into pros and cons of executive action|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/obamas-2012-daca-move-offers-a-window-into-pros-and-cons-of-executive-action/2014/11/30/88be7a36-7188-11e4-893f-86bd390a3340_story.html|access-date=November 14, 2015|newspaper=The Washington Post|date=November 30, 2014}} In 2014, Obama announced a new executive order that would have protected another four million illegal immigrants from deportation,{{cite news|last1=Ehrenfreund|first1=Max|title=Your complete guide to Obama's immigration executive action|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/wonk/wp/2014/11/19/your-complete-guide-to-obamas-immigration-order/|access-date=November 14, 2015|newspaper=The Washington Post|date=November 20, 2014}} but the order was blocked by the Supreme Court in a 4–4 tie vote that upheld a lower court's ruling.{{cite news|last1=Shear|first1=Michael|title=For Obama, Supreme Court Defeat Upends a Legacy on Immigration|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2016/06/24/us/immigration-obama-supreme-court.html|access-date=June 23, 2016|work=The New York Times|date=June 23, 2016}} Despite executive actions to protect some individuals, deportations of illegal immigrants continued under Obama. A record high of 400,000 deportations occurred in 2012, though the number of deportations fell during Obama's second term.{{cite news|last1=Nakamura|first1=David|title=Obama struggling with immigration rules and cruelties of deportation|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/obama-struggling-with-immigration-rules-and-cruelties-of-deportation/2016/01/18/5c2d4258-bba7-11e5-b682-4bb4dd403c7d_story.html|access-date=January 19, 2016|newspaper=The Washington Post|date=January 19, 2016}} In continuation of a trend that began with the passage of the Immigration and Nationality Act of 1965, the percentage of foreign-born people living in the United States reached 13.7% in 2015, higher than at any point since the early 20th century.{{cite news|last1=Gomez|first1=Alan|title=U.S. foreign-born population nears high|url=https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/2015/09/28/us-foreign-born-population-nears-high/72814674/|access-date=August 31, 2016|publisher=USA Today|date=September 25, 2015}}{{cite news|title=Modern Immigration Wave Brings 59 Million to U.S., Driving Population Growth and Change Through 2065|url=http://www.pewhispanic.org/2015/09/28/modern-immigration-wave-brings-59-million-to-u-s-driving-population-growth-and-change-through-2065/|access-date=August 31, 2016|publisher=Pew Research Center|date=September 28, 2015}} After having risen since 1990, the number of illegal immigrants living in the United States stabilized at around 11.5 million individuals during Obama's presidency, down from a peak of 12.2 million in 2007.{{cite news|last1=Ratner|first1=Steven|title=2016 in Charts. (And Can Trump Deliver in 2017?)|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2017/01/03/opinion/2016-in-charts-and-can-trump-deliver-in-2017.html|access-date=January 4, 2017|work=The New York Times|date=January 3, 2017}}{{cite news|last1=Manuel Krogstad|first1=Jens|last2=Passell|first2=Jeffrey|title=5 facts about illegal immigration in the U.S.|url=http://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2015/11/19/5-facts-about-illegal-immigration-in-the-u-s/|access-date=August 31, 2016|publisher=Pew Research Center|date=November 19, 2015}}

The nation's immigrant population hit a record 42.2 million in 2014.{{cite news|url=http://www.pewhispanic.org/2015/09/28/statistical-portrait-of-the-foreign-born-population-in-the-united-states-1960-2013-key-charts/|title=Statistical Portrait of the Foreign-Born Population in the United States |date=September 28, 2015|work=Pew Research Center}} In November 2015, Obama announced a plan to resettle at least 10,000 Syrian refugees in the United States.{{cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2015/nov/26/obama-americans-welcome-syrian-refugees-pilgrims|title=Obama calls on Americans to welcome Syrian refugees as latter-day Pilgrims |date=November 26, 2015|work=The Guardian}}

{{see also|Energy policy of the Obama administration}}

File:President Speaks to Crew on Space Station.jpg.]]

Energy production boomed during the Obama administration.{{cite news|last1=Isidore|first1=Chris|title=The Obama oil boom|url=https://money.cnn.com/2015/01/28/news/economy/obama-oil-boom/|access-date=December 13, 2015|publisher=CNN|date=January 28, 2015}} An increase in oil production was driven largely by a fracking boom spurred by private investment on private land, and the Obama administration played only a small role in this development. The Obama administration promoted the growth of renewable energy,{{cite news|last1=Gardner|first1=Timothy|title=Congress kills U.S. oil export ban, boosts solar, wind power|url=https://news.yahoo.com/house-passes-bill-freeing-u-oil-exports-senate-161742293.html|access-date=December 19, 2015|publisher=Yahoo!|date=December 18, 2015}} and solar power generation tripled during Obama's presidency.{{cite news|last1=Cama|first1=Timothy|title=Obama makes new push on solar power|url=https://thehill.com/policy/energy-environment/288340-obama-makes-new-push-on-solar-power/|access-date=August 19, 2016|work=The Hill|date=July 19, 2016}} Obama also issued numerous energy efficiency standards, contributing to a flattening of growth of the total US energy demand.{{cite news|last1=Mooney|first1=Chris|title=Obama has done more to save energy than any other president|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/energy-environment/wp/2016/08/05/obama-has-done-more-to-save-energy-than-any-other-president/|access-date=January 19, 2017|newspaper=The Washington Post|date=August 5, 2016}} In May 2010, Obama extended a moratorium on offshore drilling permits after the 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil spill, which was the worst oil spill in US history.{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2010/05/28/us/28drill.html |title=Obama Extends Moratorium; Agency Chief Resigns |newspaper=The New York Times |date=May 27, 2010 |access-date=June 8, 2010 | first=Peter | last=Baker}}{{cite news|url=https://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/2010-05-27-oil-spill-news_N.htm |title=Obama, in Gulf, pledges to push on stopping leak |newspaper=USA Today |date=May 27, 2010 |access-date=May 27, 2010 }} In December 2016, President Obama invoked the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act to ban offshore oil and gas exploration in large parts of the Arctic and Atlantic Oceans.{{cite news|last1=Fears|first1=Darryl|last2=Eilperin|first2=Juliet|title=President Obama bans oil drilling in large areas of Atlantic and Arctic oceans|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/energy-environment/wp/2016/12/20/president-obama-expected-to-ban-oil-drilling-in-large-areas-of-atlantic-and-arctic-oceans/|access-date=December 31, 2016|newspaper=The Washington Post|date=December 20, 2016}}

During Obama's tenure, the battle over the Keystone XL Pipeline became a major issue, with advocates arguing that it would contribute to economic growth and environmentalists arguing that its approval would contribute to global warming. The proposed {{convert|1000|mi|km|adj=on}} pipeline would have connected Canada's oil sands with the Gulf of Mexico. Because the pipeline crossed international boundaries, its construction required the approval of the US federal government, and the US State Department engaged in a lengthy review process.{{cite news|last1=Davenport|first1=Coral|title=Citing Climate Change, Obama Rejects Construction of Keystone XL Oil Pipeline|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2015/11/07/us/obama-expected-to-reject-construction-of-keystone-xl-oil-pipeline.html|access-date=December 13, 2015|work=The New York Times|date=November 6, 2015}} President Obama vetoed a bill to construct the Keystone Pipeline in February 2015, arguing that the decision of approval should rest with the executive branch.{{Cite web|url=https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/white-house/obama-vetoes-keystone-xl-pipeline-bill-n311671|title=Obama Vetoes Keystone XL Pipeline Bill|website=NBC News|date=February 25, 2015 }} It was the first major veto of his presidency, and Congress was unable to override it.{{cite news |url=https://thehill.com/policy/energy-environment/234615-senate-fails-to-override-obama-keystone-veto/ |title=Keystone veto override fails |date=March 4, 2015 }} In November 2015, Obama announced that he would not approve of the construction of the pipeline. On vetoing the bill, he stated that the pipeline played an "overinflated role" in US political discourse and would have had relatively little impact on job creation or climate change.

{{see also|Criminal justice reform in the United States|Federal drug policy of the United States}}

The 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,{{cite news|last1=Keller|first1=Bill|title=On Pardons, Obama's the Stingiest President Since John Adams|url=http://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2015/12/barack-obama-criminal-justice-pardons-213435|access-date=December 14, 2015|publisher=Politico|date=December 13, 2015}} and Obama was the first president since the 1960s to preside over a reduction in the federal prison population.{{cite news|last1=Apuzzo|first1=Matt|title=After Obama Push for Clemency, Hints of Reversal Likely to Come|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2016/11/22/us/politics/obama-commutations-criminal-justice-trump.html|access-date=November 23, 2016|work=The New York Times|date=November 22, 2016}} Obama's tenure also 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.{{cite news|last1=Gerstein|first1=Josh|title=GOP speakers see crime surge under Obama, but record is mixed|url=http://www.politico.com/story/2016/07/rnc-2016-obama-crime-225783|access-date=January 20, 2017|publisher=Politico|date=July 18, 2016}}{{cite news|last1=AP|title=Fact check: Obama and Trump on crime in America|url=http://www.cbsnews.com/news/fact-check-obama-and-donald-trump-on-crime-in-america/|access-date=January 20, 2017|publisher=CBS|date=July 13, 2016}} In October 2009, the US Department of Justice issued a directive to federal prosecutors in states with medical marijuana laws not to investigate or prosecute cases of marijuana use or production done in compliance with those laws.{{cite web |author=Office of Public Affairs |date=October 19, 2009 |title=Attorney General announces formal medical marijuana guidelines |publisher=US Department of Justice |url=https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/2009/October/09-ag-1119.html |access-date=July 19, 2010}}
{{cite web |author=Ogden, David W. |date=October 19, 2009 |title=Memorandum for selected United States Attorneys: Investigations and prosecutions in states authorizing the medical use of marijuana |publisher=US Department of Justice |url=https://www.justice.gov/opa/documents/medical-marijuana.pdf |access-date=July 19, 2010}}
{{cite news |author1=Stout, David |author2=Moore, Solomon |date=October 20, 2009 |title=U.S. won't prosecute in states that allow medical marijuana |newspaper=The New York Times |page=A1 |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2009/10/20/us/20cannabis.html |access-date=July 19, 2010}}
{{cite news |author=Johnson, Connie |date=October 20, 2009 |title=U.S. eases stance on medical marijuana. Attorney general says prosecuting such cases 'will not be a priority' |newspaper=The Washington Post |page=A1 |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/10/19/AR2009101903638.html |access-date=July 19, 2010}} In 2009, President Obama signed the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2010, which repealed a 21-year-old ban on federal funding of needle exchange programs.{{cite news |author=Egelko, Bob |date=December 18, 2009 |title=U.S. ends funding ban for needle exchanges |newspaper=San Francisco Chronicle |page=A126 |url=http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2009/12/18/MNKM1B5S7L.DTL |access-date=July 20, 2010}} In August 2010, Obama signed the Fair Sentencing Act, which reduced the sentencing disparity between crack cocaine and powder cocaine.{{cite news|title=Obama signs bill reducing cocaine sentencing gap|url=http://www.cnn.com/2010/POLITICS/08/03/fair.sentencing/|access-date=November 14, 2015|publisher=CNN|date=August 3, 2010}} In 2012, Colorado and Washington became the first states to legalize non-medical marijuana,{{cite news|last1=Ng|first1=Christina|title=Colorado, Washington Become First States to Legalize Recreational Marijuana|url=https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/OTUS/colorado-washington-states-legalize-recreational-marijuana/story?id=17652774|access-date=November 14, 2015|work=ABC News|date=November 7, 2012}} and six more states legalized recreational marijuana by the time Obama left office.{{cite news|last1=Watkins|first1=Eli|last2=Kenny|first2=Caroline|last3=Tatum|first3=Sophie|title=44 ways to judge the Obama era|url=http://www.cnn.com/2017/01/18/politics/obama-presidency-statistics/|access-date=January 19, 2017|publisher=CNN|date=January 18, 2017}} Though any use of marijuana remained illegal under federal law, the Obama administration generally chose not to prosecute those who used marijuana in states that chose to legalize it.{{cite news|last1=Richey|first1=Warren|title=Supreme Court prods Obama administration in Colorado marijuana dispute (+video)|url=http://www.csmonitor.com/USA/Justice/2015/0504/Supreme-Court-prods-Obama-administration-in-Colorado-marijuana-dispute-video|access-date=November 14, 2015|work=The Christian Science Monitor|date=May 4, 2015}} In 2016, Obama announced that the federal government would phase out the use of private prisons.{{cite news|last1=Savage|first1=Charlie|title=U.S. to Phase Out Use of Private Prisons for Federal Inmates|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2016/08/19/us/us-to-phase-out-use-of-private-prisons-for-federal-inmates.html|access-date=September 8, 2016|work=The New York Times|date=August 18, 2016}} Obama commuted the sentences of over 1,000 individuals, a higher number of commutations than any other president, and most of Obama's commutations went to nonviolent drug offenders.{{cite news|last1=Lederman|first1=Josh|last2=Tucker|first2=Eric|title=Pressure on Obama to grant last-minute pardons, commutations|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/pressure-on-obama-to-grant-last-minute-pardons-commutations/2017/01/05/5f150f24-d31f-11e6-9651-54a0154cf5b3_story.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170106155045/https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/pressure-on-obama-to-grant-last-minute-pardons-commutations/2017/01/05/5f150f24-d31f-11e6-9651-54a0154cf5b3_story.html|archive-date=January 6, 2017|access-date=January 11, 2017|newspaper=The Washington Post|date=January 5, 2017}}{{cite news|last1=Horwitz|first1=Sari|title=Obama grants final 330 commutations to nonviolent drug offenders|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/national-security/obama-grants-final-330-commutations-to-nonviolent-drug-offenders/2017/01/19/41506468-de5d-11e6-918c-99ede3c8cafa_story.html?tid=a_breakingnews|access-date=January 19, 2017|newspaper=The Washington Post|date=January 19, 2017}}

During Obama's presidency, there was a sharp rise in opioid mortality. Many of the deaths – then and now – result from fentanyl consumption where an overdose is more likely than with heroin consumption. And many people died because they were not aware of this difference or thought that they would administer themselves heroin or a drug mixture but actually used pure fentanyl.{{cite web |url=https://medicalxpress.com/news/2019-03-overdose-deaths-fentanyl-soaring.html |title=Overdose deaths from fentanyl soaring: report |website=medicalxpress.com |date=March 21, 2019 }} Health experts criticized the government's response as slow and weak.{{Cite news|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/graphics/2019/national/fentanyl-epidemic-obama-administration/|title=Obama officials failed to focus as fentanyl burned its way across America|date=2019|newspaper=The Washington Post}}{{cite podcast |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/podcasts/post-reports/how-the-obama-administration-missed-the-fentanyl-crisis/ |title=How the Obama administration missed the fentanyl crisis |time=28 min. |work=The Washington Post |date=March 13, 2019 }}

{{see also|Gun politics in the United States}}

Upon taking office in 2009, Obama expressed support for reinstating the Federal Assault Weapons Ban; but did not make a strong push to pass it-or any new gun control legislation early on in his presidency.{{cite news|last1=Planin|first1=Eric|title=Why Congress Wimped Out on the Assault Weapons Ban|url=http://www.thefiscaltimes.com/Articles/2013/01/17/Why-Congress-Wimped-Out-on-the-Assault-Weapons-Ban|access-date=August 19, 2016|publisher=The Fiscal Times|date=January 17, 2013}} During his first year in office, Obama signed into law two bills containing amendments reducing restrictions on gun owners, one which permitted guns to be transported in checked baggage on Amtrak trains{{cite news |url=https://www.cbsnews.com/news/senate-votes-to-allow-guns-on-amtrak/ |title=Senate Votes to Allow Guns on Amtrak |work=CBS News |date=September 16, 2009 |access-date=March 15, 2010 }} and another allowing the concealed carry of loaded firearms in National Parks, located in states where concealed carry was permitted.{{cite news |last=Urbina |first=Ian |date=February 23, 2010 |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2010/02/24/us/24guns.html |title=Fearing Obama Agenda, States Push to Loosen Gun Laws |work=The New York Times |access-date=March 15, 2010 }}{{cite news |last=Dinan |first=Stephen |date=February 22, 2010 |url=http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2010/feb/22/national-parks-will-open-gates-to-holders-of-conce/ |title=Parks open to holders of concealed guns |work=The Washington Times |access-date=March 15, 2010 }}

File:President Obama Makes a Statement on the Shooting in Newtown.ogv]]

Following the December 2012 Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting, Obama outlined a series of sweeping gun control proposals, urging Congress to reintroduce an expired ban on "military-style" assault weapons, impose limits on ammunition magazines to 10 rounds, require universal background checks for all domestic gun sales, ban the possession and sale of armor-piercing bullets and introduce harsher penalties for gun-traffickers.{{cite news

| url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-21049942

| work=BBC News

| location=London

| title=US gun debate: Obama unveils gun control proposals

| first=Mark

| last=Mardell

| date=January 16, 2013

| access-date=January 16, 2013}}

Despite Obama's advocacy and subsequent mass shootings, no major gun control bill passed Congress during Obama's presidency. Senators Joe Manchin (D-WV) and Pat Toomey (R-PA) attempted to pass a more limited gun control measure that would have expanded background checks, but the bill was blocked in the Senate.{{cite news|last1=Itkowitz|first1=Colby|title=Manchin, Toomey both interested in reviving gun control push|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/powerpost/wp/2015/06/23/manchin-toomey-both-interested-in-reviving-gun-control-push/|access-date=November 19, 2015|newspaper=The Washington Post|date=June 23, 2015}}

{{see also|Cyberwarfare in the United States}}

Cybersecurity emerged as an important issue during Obama's presidency. In 2009, the Obama administration established United States Cyber Command, an armed forces sub-unified command charged with defending the military against cyber attacks.{{cite news|last1=Gould|first1=Joe|title=Constructing a Cyber Superpower|url=http://www.defensenews.com/story/defense/policy-budget/cyber/2015/06/27/us-cyber-command-budget-expand-fort-meade-offensive/28829321/|access-date=November 15, 2015|publisher=Defense News|date=June 29, 2015}}{{dead link|date=August 2021|bot=medic}}{{cbignore|bot=medic}} Sony Pictures suffered a major hack in 2014, which the US government alleges originated from North Korea in retaliation for the release of the film The Interview. China also developed sophisticated cyber-warfare forces.{{cite news|last1=Harris|first1=Shane |author-link=Shane Harris|title=China Reveals Its Cyberwar Secrets|url=http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2015/03/18/china-reveals-its-cyber-war-secrets.html|access-date=November 15, 2015|work=Daily Beast|date=March 18, 2015}} In 2015, Obama declared cyber-attacks on the US a national emergency.{{cite news|last1=Bennett|first1=Cory|title=Obama declares cyberattacks a 'national emergency'|url=https://thehill.com/policy/cybersecurity/237581-obama-declares-cyberattacks-a-national-emergency/|access-date=November 15, 2015|work=The Hill|date=April 1, 2015}} Later that year, Obama signed the Cybersecurity Information Sharing Act into law.{{cite news|last1=Risen|first1=Tom|title=Obama Signs Cybersecurity Law In Spending Package|url=https://www.usnews.com/news/articles/2015-12-18/obama-signs-cybersecurity-law-in-spending-package|access-date=December 19, 2015|publisher=U.S. News & World Report|date=December 18, 2015}} In 2016, the Democratic National Committee and other US organizations were hacked,{{cite news|last1=Roth|first1=Andrew|last2=Priest|first2=Dana|author2-link=Dana Priest|title=Putin wants revenge and respect, and hacking the U.S. is his way of getting it|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/europe/russian-hacking-a-question-of-revenge-and-respect/2016/09/15/8bcc8d7e-7511-11e6-9781-49e591781754_story.html|access-date=September 16, 2016|newspaper=The Washington Post|date=September 16, 2016}} and the FBI and CIA concluded that Russia sponsored the hacking in hopes of helping Donald Trump win the 2016 presidential election.{{cite news|last1=Miller|first1=Greg|last2=Entous|first2=Adam|title=Declassified report says Putin 'ordered' effort to undermine faith in U.S. election and help Trump|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/national-security/intelligence-chiefs-expected-in-new-york-to-brief-trump-on-russian-hacking/2017/01/06/5f591416-d41a-11e6-9cb0-54ab630851e8_story.html|access-date=January 7, 2017|newspaper=The Washington Post|date=January 6, 2017}} The email accounts of other prominent individuals, including former secretary of state Colin Powell and CIA director John O. Brennan, were also hacked, leading to new fears about the confidentiality of emails.{{cite news|last1=Shear|first1=Michael|last2=Fandos|first2=Nicholas|title=Concern Over Colin Powell's Hacked Emails Becomes a Fear of Being Next|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2016/09/16/us/politics/email-hacking-colin-powell-congress.html|work=The New York Times|date=September 15, 2016}}

{{see also|Race and ethnicity in the United States}}

File:Beer summit cheers.jpg

In his speeches as president, Obama did not make more overt references to race relations than his predecessors,{{cite book |isbn=978-0-544-38766-9|title=The Black Presidency: Barack Obama and the Politics of Race in America|last1=Dyson|first1=Michael Eric|year=2016|page=275|publisher=Houghton Mifflin Harcourt }}{{Cite book|url=https://www.cambridge.org/core/books/governing-with-words/5D4F713A016401E3FC3922C66D371FF2|title=Governing with Words|last=Gillion|first=Daniel Q.|date=2016|website=Cambridge Core|doi=10.1017/CBO9781316412299|isbn=978-1-316-41229-9|language=en|access-date=June 5, 2019}} but according to one study, he implemented stronger policy action on behalf of African-Americans than any president since the Nixon era.{{Cite journal|last1=Butler|first1=Bennett|last2=Mendelberg|first2=Tali|last3=Haines|first3=Pavielle E.|date=2019|title="I'm Not the President of Black America": Rhetorical versus Policy Representation|journal=Perspectives on Politics|language=en|volume=17|issue=4|pages=1038–1058|doi=10.1017/S1537592719000963|issn=1537-5927|doi-access=free}}

Following Obama's election, many pondered the existence of a "postracial America".{{cite news|last1=Shear|first1=Michael|last2=Alcindor|first2=Yamiche|title=Jolted by Deaths, Obama Found His Voice on Race|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2017/01/14/us/politics/obama-presidency-race.html|access-date=January 17, 2017|work=The New York Times|date=January 14, 2017}} However, lingering racial tensions quickly became apparent,{{cite news|last1=Rodgers|first1=Walter|title=A year into Obama's presidency, is America postracial?|url=http://www.csmonitor.com/Commentary/Walter-Rodgers/2010/0105/A-year-into-Obama-s-presidency-is-America-postracial|access-date=November 15, 2015|work=The Christian Science Monitor|date=January 5, 2010}}{{cite news|last1=Cillizza|first1=Chris|author1-link=Chris Cillizza|title=President Obama's vision of post-racial America faces another stress test with Ferguson|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/the-fix/wp/2014/08/14/president-obamas-desire-to-reshape-race-relations-runs-into-stark-realities/|access-date=November 15, 2015|newspaper=The Washington Post|date=August 14, 2014}} and many African-Americans expressed outrage over what they saw as "racial venom" directed at Obama's presidency.{{cite news|last1=Blake|first1=John|title=What black America won't miss about Obama|url=http://www.cnn.com/2016/06/30/politics/why-black-america-may-be-relieved-to-see-obama-go/|access-date=July 7, 2016|website=CNN|date=July 1, 2016}} In July 2009, prominent African-American Harvard professor Henry Louis Gates, Jr., was arrested at his Cambridge, Massachusetts home by a local police officer, sparking a controversy after Obama stated that the police acted "stupidly" in handling the incident. To reduce tensions, Obama invited Gates and the police officer to the White House in what became known as the "Beer Summit".{{cite web |title=Obama Called Police Officer Who Arrested Gates, Still Sees 'Overreaction' in Arrest|url=https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/story?id=8163051&page=1|last1=Khan|first1=Huma|last2=McPhee|first2=Michele|last3=Goldman|first3=Russell|website = ABC News|date=July 24, 2009 |access-date=December 7, 2010}} Several other incidents during Obama's presidency sparked outrage in the African-American community or the law enforcement community, and Obama sought to build trust between law enforcement officials and civil rights activists.{{cite news|last1=Hirschfield Davis|first1=Julie|author1-link=Julie Hirschfield Davis|title=Obama Urges Civil Rights Activists and Police to Bridge Divide|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2016/07/14/us/politics/tensions-between-police-and-blacks-are-likely-to-worsen-obama-says.html|access-date=July 23, 2016|work=The New York Times|date=July 13, 2016}} The acquittal of George Zimmerman following the killing of Trayvon Martin sparked national outrage, leading to Obama giving a speech in which he noted that "Trayvon Martin could have been me 35 years ago."{{cite news|last1=Cillizza|first1=Chris|author1-link=Chris Cillizza|title=President Obama's remarkably personal speech on Trayvon Martin and race in America|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/the-fix/wp/2013/07/19/president-obamas-remarkably-personal-speech-on-trayvon-martin-and-race-in-america/|access-date=November 15, 2015|newspaper=The Washington Post|date=July 19, 2013}} The shooting of Michael Brown in Ferguson, Missouri sparked a wave of protests.{{cite news|last1=Capeheart|first1=Jonathan|title=From Trayvon Martin to 'black lives matter'|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/post-partisan/wp/2015/02/27/from-trayvon-martin-to-black-lives-matter/|access-date=November 15, 2015|newspaper=The Washington Post|date=February 27, 2015}} These and other events led to the birth of the Black Lives Matter movement, which campaigns against violence and systemic racism toward black people. Some in the law enforcement community criticized Obama's condemnation of racial bias after incidents in which police action led to the death of African-American men, while some racial justice activists criticized Obama's expressions of empathy for the police. Though Obama entered office reluctant to talk about race, by 2014 he began openly discussing the disadvantages faced by many members of minority groups.{{cite news|last1=Bacon|first1=Perry Jr.|title=In Wake of Police Shootings, Obama Speaks More Bluntly About Race|url=http://www.nbcnews.com/politics/barack-obama/wake-police-shootings-obama-speaks-more-bluntly-about-race-n278616|access-date=November 15, 2015|website=NBC|date=January 3, 2015}} In a March 2016 Gallup poll, nearly one third of Americans said they worried "a great deal" about race relations, a higher figure than in any previous Gallup poll since 2001.{{cite news|title=U.S. Worries About Race Relations Reach a New High|url=http://www.gallup.com/poll/190574/worries-race-relations-reach-new-high.aspx?g_source=race%20obama&g_medium=search&g_campaign=tiles|access-date=December 5, 2016|publisher=Gallup|date=April 11, 2016}}

{{main|Space policy of the Barack Obama administration}}

File:President Obama speaks at Kennedy Space Center.jpg, April 15, 2010.]]

In July 2009, Obama appointed Charles Bolden, a former astronaut, as NASA Administrator.{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/8154525.stm|publisher=BBC|title=Ex-astronaut Bolden to lead Nasa|date=July 16, 2009}} That same year, Obama set up the Augustine panel to review the Constellation program. In February 2010, Obama announced that he was cutting the program from the 2011 United States federal budget, describing it as "over budget, behind schedule, and lacking in innovation."{{Cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/sci/tech/8489097.stm|access-date=March 7, 2010|title=Obama cancels Moon return project |work=BBC News | date=February 1, 2010 | first=Jonathan | last=Amos}}{{cite news|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/01/31/AR2010013101058.html|title=NASA budget for 2011 eliminates funds for manned lunar missions|newspaper=The Washington Post |date=February 1, 2010|access-date=February 1, 2010 | first=Joel | last=Achenbach}} After the decision drew criticism in the United States, a new "Flexible path to Mars" plan was unveiled at a space conference in April 2010.{{cite news|url=http://www.nbcnews.com/id/37907917|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200923231324/http://www.nbcnews.com/id/37907917|url-status=dead|archive-date=September 23, 2020|author=Clara Moskowitz|author-link= Clara Moskowitz |title=Misconceptions swirl around Obama space plan

|work=NBC News |date=June 24, 2010|access-date=July 7, 2010}}{{cite web|url=http://www.nasa.gov/pdf/396093main_HSF_Cmte_FinalReport.pdf|title=Review of U.S. Plans Committee|publisher=Human Space Flights Committee|access-date=July 7, 2010|archive-date=February 16, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190216063908/https://www.nasa.gov/pdf/396093main_HSF_Cmte_FinalReport.pdf|url-status=dead}} It included new technology programs, increased R&D spending, an increase in NASA's 2011 budget from $18.3 billion to $19 billion, a focus on the International Space Station, and plans to contract future transportation to Low Earth orbit to private companies. During Obama's presidency, NASA designed the Space Launch System and developed the Commercial Crew Development and Commercial Orbital Transportation Services to cooperate with private space flight companies.{{cite news|last1=Wall|first1=Mike|title=White House unveils new US space transportation policy|url=http://www.nbcnews.com/science/white-house-unveils-new-us-space-transportation-policy-2D11644133|access-date=November 19, 2015|publisher=NBC|date=November 22, 2013}} These private companies, including SpaceX, Virgin Galactic, Blue Origin, Boeing, and Bigelow Aerospace, became increasingly active during Obama's presidency.{{cite news|last1=Davenport|first1=Christian|title=How Obama brought capitalism to outer space|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/the-switch/wp/2016/10/11/how-obama-brought-capitalism-to-outer-space/|access-date=October 12, 2016|newspaper=The Washington Post|date=October 11, 2016}} The Space Shuttle program ended in 2011, and NASA relied on the Russian space program to launch its astronauts into orbit for the remainder of the Obama administration.{{cite news|last1=Achenbach|first1=Joel|title=Which way to space?|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/sf/national/2013/11/23/which-way-to-space/|access-date=November 19, 2015|newspaper=The Washington Post|date=November 23, 2013}}{{cite news|last1=Mosher|first1=Dave|title=Russia is squeezing NASA for more than $3.3 billion — and there's little anyone can do about it|url=http://www.businessinsider.com/astronaut-cost-per-soyuz-seat-2016-9|access-date=October 12, 2016|publisher=Business Insider|date=September 2, 2016}} Obama's presidency also saw the launch of the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter and the Mars Science Laboratory. In 2016, Obama called on the United States to land a human on Mars by the 2030s.

Obama promoted various technologies and the technological prowess of the United States. The number of American adults using the internet grew from 74% in 2008 to 84% in 2013,{{cite news|last1=Perrin|first1=Andrew|title=Americans' Internet Access: 2000–2015|url=http://www.pewinternet.org/2015/06/26/americans-internet-access-2000-2015/|access-date=January 21, 2016|publisher=Pew|date=June 26, 2015}} and Obama pushed programs to extend broadband internet to lower income Americans.{{cite news|last1=Zezima|first1=Katie|title=Obama announces pilot program to expand broadband to low-income households|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/post-politics/wp/2015/07/15/obama-to-announce-pilot-program-to-expand-broadband-to-low-income-households/|access-date=January 21, 2016|newspaper=The Washington Post|date=July 15, 2015}} Over the opposition of many Republicans, the Federal Communications Commission began regulating internet providers as public utilities, with the goal of protecting "net neutrality".{{cite news|last1=Ruiz|first1=Rebecca|title=F.C.C. Sets Net Neutrality Rules|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2015/03/13/technology/fcc-releases-net-neutrality-rules.html|access-date=January 21, 2016|work=The New York Times|date=March 12, 2015}} Obama launched 18F and the United States Digital Service, two organizations devoted to modernizing government information technology.{{cite news|last1=Naylor|first1=Brian|title=Remaking The U.S. Government's Online Image, One Website At A Time|url=https://www.npr.org/sections/alltechconsidered/2015/01/28/382178574/remaking-the-u-s-governments-online-image-one-website-at-a-time|access-date=January 19, 2016|publisher=NPR|date=February 4, 2015}}{{cite news|last1=Peterson|first1=Andrea|title=How the government tries to recruit hackers on their own turf|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/the-switch/wp/2015/10/24/how-the-government-tries-to-recruit-hackers-on-their-own-turf/|access-date=January 19, 2016|newspaper=The Washington Post|date=October 24, 2015}} The stimulus package included money to build high-speed rail networks such as the proposed Florida High Speed Corridor, but political resistance and funding problems stymied those efforts.{{cite news|last1=Laing|first1=Keith|title=Obama's proposed high-speed rail network stuck in station|url=https://thehill.com/policy/transportation/263782-obama-high-speed-rail-stuck-in-station/|access-date=January 19, 2016|work=The Hill|date=December 20, 2015}} 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.{{cite news|last1=Risen|first1=Tom|title=Obama to Propose $4 Billion for Self-Driving Cars|url=https://www.usnews.com/news/articles/2016-01-14/obama-to-propose-4-billion-for-self-driving-cars|access-date=January 19, 2016|publisher=U.S. News & World Report|date=January 14, 2016}} That same month, Obama called for a national effort led by Vice President Biden to develop a cure for cancer.{{cite news|last1=Ferris|first1=Sarah|title=Obama vows to cure cancer 'once and for all'|url=https://thehill.com/policy/healthcare/265671-obama-launches-effort-to-cure-cancer-once-and-for-all/|access-date=January 19, 2016|work=The Hill|date=January 12, 2016}} On October 19, 2016, Biden spoke at the Edward M. Kennedy Institute for the United States Senate at the University of Massachusetts Boston to speak about the administration's cancer initiative.{{cite news|title=Getting to the Point: A Conversation with Vice President Joe Biden on the Cancer Moonshot Initiative|publisher=Edward M. Kennedy Institute for the United States Senate|url=https://www.emkinstitute.org/resources/bidencancermoonshot2016|date=October 19, 2016|access-date=August 20, 2017}} A 2020 study in the American Economic Review found that the decision by the Obama administration to issue press releases that named and shamed facilities that violated OSHA safety and health regulations led other facilities to increase their compliance and to experience fewer workplace injuries. The study estimated that each press release had the same effect on compliance as 210 inspections.{{Cite journal|last=Johnson|first=Matthew S.|date=2020|title=Regulation by Shaming: Deterrence Effects of Publicizing Violations of Workplace Safety and Health Laws|journal=American Economic Review|language=en|volume=110|issue=6|pages=1866–1904|doi=10.1257/aer.20180501|issn=0002-8282|doi-access=free}}{{Cite news|title=When It Comes to Workplace Safety, Shaming Works|url=https://www.bloomberg.com/opinion/articles/2020-03-09/osha-shaming-tactic-improved-workplace-safety-before-trump|newspaper=Bloomberg.com|date=March 9, 2020 |access-date=2020-05-28}}

{{Main|Foreign policy of the Barack Obama administration}}

File:Barack Obama foreign trips.png to 58 different countries during his presidency.{{cite web|url= https://history.state.gov/departmenthistory/travels/president/obama-barack|title= Travels of President Barack Obama|publisher= U.S. Department of State Office of the Historian|access-date= 2023-12-15|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20231120132139/https://history.state.gov/departmenthistory/travels/president/obama-barack|archive-date= 2023-11-20|url-status= live}}]]

The Obama administration inherited a war in Afghanistan, a war in Iraq, and a global "War on Terror", all launched by Congress during the term of President Bush in the aftermath of the September 11 attacks. Upon taking office, Obama called for a "new beginning" in relations between the Muslim world and the United States,{{cite news|url=http://www.cnn.com/2009/POLITICS/06/04/egypt.obama.speech/index.html |publisher=CNN |title=Obama in Egypt reaches out to Muslim world |access-date=May 22, 2010 |date=June 4, 2009}}{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2009/06/05/world/middleeast/05prexy.html |work=The New York Times |title=Addressing Muslims, Obama Pushes Mideast Peace |first1=Jeff |last1=Zeleny |author1-link=Jeff Zeleny |first2=Alan |last2=Cowell |date=June 5, 2009 |access-date=May 22, 2010}} and he discontinued the use of the term "War on Terror" in favor of the term "Overseas Contingency Operation".{{cite web |url=https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/Inauguration/story?id=6689022&page=1 |title=Inaugural Address |work=ABC News |date=January 20, 2009 |access-date=April 14, 2012}} Obama pursued a "light footprint" military strategy in the Middle East that emphasized special forces, drone strikes, and diplomacy over large ground troop occupations.{{cite news |last1=Sanger|first1=David|title=Even With a 'Light Footprint,' It's Hard to Sidestep the Middle East|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2012/11/18/world/middle-east-challenges-obamas-light-footprint.html|access-date=February 10, 2016|work=The New York Times|date=November 17, 2012}} However, American forces continued to clash with Islamic militant organizations such as al-Qaeda, ISIL, and al-Shabaab{{cite news|last1=Eilperin|first1=Juliet|title=Obama commits U.S. to intensified fight against terrorists in East Africa|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/us-to-expand-support-in-kenya-somalia-for-counterterrorism-operations/2015/07/25/b6f386f0-3210-11e5-97ae-30a30cca95d7_story.html|access-date=November 15, 2015|newspaper=The Washington Post|date=July 25, 2015}} under the terms of the AUMF passed by Congress in 2001.{{cite news|last1=Wong|first1=Scott|title=GOP: Obama war request is dead |url=https://thehill.com/policy/defense/238619-gop-obama-war-request-is-dead/|access-date=December 18, 2015|work=The Hill |date=April 13, 2015}} Though the Middle East remained important to American foreign policy, Obama pursued a "pivot" to East Asia.{{cite news|last=Clinton|first=Hillary|title=America's Pacific Century|url=https://foreignpolicy.com/articles/2011/10/11/americas_pacific_century|access-date=June 7, 2013|newspaper=Foreign Policy|date=November 2011|archive-date=June 14, 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130614114825/http://www.foreignpolicy.com/articles/2011/10/11/americas_pacific_century|url-status=dead}}{{cite news|title=Barack Obama says Asia-Pacific is 'top US priority'|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-15715446|access-date=November 14, 2015|publisher=BBC|date=November 17, 2011}} Obama also emphasized closer relations with India, and was the first president to visit the country twice.{{cite news|last1=Kumar|first1=Nikhil|title=5 Things You Need to Know About Obama's Visit to India|url=https://time.com/3679945/barack-obama-india-narendra-modi-5-things/|access-date=November 14, 2015|publisher=CNN|date=January 23, 2015}} An advocate for nuclear non-proliferation, Obama successfully negotiated arms-reduction deals with Iran and Russia.{{cite news|last1=Parsons|first1=Christi|title=Iran nuclear deal is key to Obama's nonproliferation agenda |url=https://www.latimes.com/world/middleeast/la-fg-obama-nuclear-2-20150404-story.html|access-date=November 15, 2015|work=Los Angeles Times|date=April 3, 2015}} In 2015, Obama described the Obama Doctrine, saying "we will engage, but we preserve all our capabilities."{{cite news|last1=Friedman|first1=Thomas|title=Iran and the Obama Doctrine|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2015/04/06/opinion/thomas-friedman-the-obama-doctrine-and-iran-interview.html?ref=opinion&_r=0|access-date=November 14, 2015|work=The New York Times|date=April 5, 2015}} Obama also described himself as an internationalist who rejected isolationism and was influenced by realism and liberal interventionism.{{cite news|last1=Goldberg|first1=Jeffrey|title=The Obama Doctrine|url=https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2016/04/the-obama-doctrine/471525/|access-date=August 2, 2016|work=The Atlantic|date=April 2016}}

{{Main|Iraq War|War in Afghanistan (2001–2021)|AfPak}}

During the 2008 presidential election, Obama strongly criticized the Iraq War,{{cite news|last1=Broder|first1=John |title=Obama and McCain Duel Over Iraq|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2008/07/16/us/politics/15cnd-obama.html|access-date=November 13, 2015|work=The New York Times|date=July 16, 2008}} and Obama withdrew the vast majority of US soldiers in Iraq by late 2011. On taking office, Obama announced that US combat forces would leave Iraq by August 2010, with 35,000–50,000 American soldiers remaining in Iraq as advisers and trainers,{{cite news|last1=DeYoung|first1=Karen |title=Obama Sets Timetable for Iraq Withdrawal, Calling It Part of Broader Middle East Strategy |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/02/27/AR2009022700566.html|access-date=November 13, 2015|newspaper=The Washington Post|date=February 28, 2009}} down from the roughly 150,000 American soldiers in Iraq in early 2009.{{cite news|title=Iraq War in figures|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-11107739|access-date=November 13, 2015 |publisher=BBC|date=December 14, 2011}} In 2008, President Bush had signed the US–Iraq Status of Forces Agreement, in which the United States committed to withdrawing all forces by late 2011.{{cite news |last1=Fordham|first1=Alice|title=Fact Check: Did Obama Withdraw From Iraq Too Soon, Allowing ISIS To Grow?|url=https://www.npr.org/2015/12/19/459850716/fact-check-did-obama-withdraw-from-iraq-too-soon-allowing-isis-to-grow|access-date=December 6, 2016 |publisher=NPR |date=December 19, 2015}}{{cite news|last1=Carroll|first1=Lauren|title=Obama aimed to end wars, but U.S. is still entangled in Iraq, Afghanistan|url=http://www.miamiherald.com/news/politics-government/article125501474.html|access-date=January 17, 2017|work=Miami Herald|date=January 9, 2017}} Obama 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. By late-December 2011, only 150 American soldiers remained to serve at the US embassy.{{cite news|last1=Logan|first1=Joseph|title=Last U.S. troops leave Iraq, ending war|url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-iraq-withdrawal-idUSTRE7BH03320111218|access-date=November 13, 2015|work=Reuters|date=December 18, 2011}} However, in 2014, the US began a campaign against ISIL, an Islamic extremist terrorist group operating in Iraq and Syria that grew dramatically after the withdrawal of US soldiers from Iraq and the start of the Syrian Civil War.{{cite web|url=https://abcnews.go.com/International/us-begins-humanitarian-airdrops-iraq/story?id=24884633|title=Obama Authorizes Air Strikes in Iraq |work=ABC News|date=August 7, 2014|access-date=August 18, 2014}} By June 2015, there were about 3500 American soldiers in Iraq serving as advisers to anti-ISIL forces in the Iraqi Civil War,{{cite news |last1=Bender |first1=Bryan |title=Obama's Iraq Quagmire|url=http://www.politico.com/story/2015/06/iraq-barack-obama-us-military-combat-forces-islamic-state-118842|access-date=November 13, 2015|work=Politico|date=June 10, 2015}} and Obama left office with roughly 5,262 US soldiers in Iraq and 503 of them in Syria.{{cite news|last1=Parsons|first1=Christi|last2=Hennigan |first2=WJ|title=President Obama, who hoped to sow peace, instead led the nation in war|url=https://www.latimes.com/projects/la-na-pol-obama-at-war/|access-date=January 18, 2017|work=Los Angeles Times|date=January 13, 2017}}

{{blockquote|It is unacceptable that almost seven years after nearly 3,000 Americans were killed on our soil, the terrorists who attacked us on 9/11 are still at large. Osama bin Laden and Ayman al-Zawahari are recording messages to their followers and plotting more terror. The Taliban controls parts of Afghanistan. Al Qaeda has an expanding base in Pakistan that is probably no farther from their old Afghan sanctuary than a train ride from Washington to Philadelphia. If another attack on our homeland comes, it will likely come from the same region where 9/11 was planned. And yet today, we have five times more troops in Iraq than Afghanistan.{{cite news | url=https://www.nytimes.com/2008/07/15/us/politics/15text-obama.html | title=Obama's Remarks on Iraq and Afghanistan | newspaper=The New York Times | date=July 15, 2008 }}|author=Obama during his 2008 presidential campaign speech}}

File:Barack Obama speaks to US troops at Camp Victory 4-7-09 1.JPG, Iraq, April 2009]]

Obama 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 announced that the US military presence in Afghanistan would be bolstered by 17,000 new troops by Summer 2009,{{cite news|url=http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,25197,25074581-2703,00.html|title=Obama launches Afghanistan surge|work=The Australian|date=February 19, 2009|first=Amanda|last=Hodge|access-date=February 27, 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090219134205/http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,25197,25074581-2703,00.html|archive-date=February 19, 2009}} on top of the roughly 30,000 soldiers already in Afghanistan at the start of 2009.{{cite news |last1=Tyson|first1=Ann Scott|title=Number of U.S. Troops in Afghanistan Overlooks Thousands of Support Troops |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/10/12/AR2009101203142.html|access-date=November 13, 2015|newspaper=The Washington Post|date=October 13, 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 dispatched additional soldiers after a lengthy review process.{{cite news|title=Gates: More Troops For Afghanistan|publisher=news10.net|date=January 27, 2009|url=http://www.news10.net/news/national/story.aspx?storyid=53827|access-date=December 19, 2010|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130907084138/http://www.news10.net/news/national/story.aspx?storyid=53827|archive-date=September 7, 2013}}{{cite news|last1=Baker|first1=Peter|title=How Obama Came to Plan for 'Surge' in Afghanistan|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2009/12/06/world/asia/06reconstruct.html|access-date=November 13, 2015|work=The New York Times|date=December 5, 2009}} During this time, his administration had used the neologism AfPak to denote Afghanistan and Pakistan as a single theater of operations in the war on terror.{{cite web|url=http://www.fpif.org/articles/the_afpak_paradox|title=The AfPak Paradox|work=Foreign Policy In Focus|date=April 2009 |access-date=6 May 2016}} The number of American soldiers in Afghanistan would peak at 100,000 in 2010. In 2012, the US and Afghanistan signed a strategic partnership agreement in which the US agreed to hand over major combat operation to Afghan forces.{{cite news |last=Landler|first=Mark|author-link=Mark Landler|title=Obama Signs Pact in Kabul, Turning Page in Afghan War|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2012/05/02/world/asia/obama-lands-in-kabul-on-unannounced-visit.html?_r=2&ref=barackobama|access-date=May 4, 2012|newspaper=The New York Times|date=May 1, 2012}} That same year, the Obama administration designated Afghanistan as a major non-NATO ally.{{cite news|title=Hillary Clinton says Afghanistan 'major non-Nato ally'|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-18750732|access-date=July 7, 2012|work=BBC News|date=July 7, 2012}} In 2014, Obama announced that most troops would leave Afghanistan by late 2016, with a small force remaining at the US embassy.{{cite news|last1=Landler|first1=Mark|author1-link=Mark Landler|title=U.S. Troops to Leave Afghanistan by End of 2016|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2014/05/28/world/asia/us-to-complete-afghan-pullout-by-end-of-2016-obama-to-say.html|access-date=November 13, 2015|work=The New York Times|date=May 27, 2014}} In September 2014, Ashraf Ghani succeeded Hamid Karzai as the President of Afghanistan after the US helped negotiate a power-sharing agreement between Ghani and Abdullah Abdullah.{{cite news|last1=Nordland|first1=Rod|title=President Ashraf Ghani of Afghanistan Is Sworn In, Even as He Shares the Stage |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2014/09/30/international-home/ashraf-ghani-sworn-in-as-afghan-president.html|access-date=November 19, 2015 |work=The New York Times|date=September 29, 2014}} On January 1, 2015, the US military ended Operation Enduring Freedom and began Resolute Support Mission, in which the US shifted to more of a training role, although some combat operations continued.{{cite news|last1=Bowman|first1=Tom|title=After Years Of Conflict, U.S. Mission Shifts In Afghanistan |url=https://www.npr.org/sections/parallels/2014/12/31/374216408/after-years-of-conflict-u-s-mission-shifts-in-afghanistan |access-date=November 19, 2015|publisher=NPR|date=January 1, 2015}} In October 2015, Obama 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.{{cite news |last1=Rosenberg|first1=Matthew|title=In Reversal, Obama Says U.S. Soldiers Will Stay in Afghanistan to 2017|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2015/10/16/world/asia/obama-troop-withdrawal-afghanistan.html|access-date=November 13, 2015|work=The New York Times|date=October 15, 2015}} Joint Chiefs of Staff Chair Martin Dempsey framed the decision to keep soldiers in Afghanistan as part of a long-term counter-terrorism operation stretching across Central Asia.{{cite news |last1=Landler |first1=Mark |author1-link=Mark Landler |title=The Afghan War and the Evolution of Obama|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2017/01/01/world/asia/obama-afghanistan-war.html|access-date=January 2, 2017|work=The New York Times|date=January 1, 2017}} Obama left office with roughly 8,400 US soldiers remaining in Afghanistan.{{cite news|last1=Tilghman|first1=Andrew|title=New in 2017: Big decisions for the wars in Iraq, Syria and Afghanistan|url=http://www.militarytimes.com/articles/donald-trump-iraq-syria-afghanistan-james-mattis|access-date=January 2, 2017|work=Military Times|date=December 26, 2016}}

{{See also|East Asian foreign policy of the Barack Obama administration}}

Though other areas of the world remained important to American foreign policy, Obama pursued a "pivot" to East Asia, focusing the US's diplomacy and trade in the region. China's continued emergence as a major power was a major issue of Obama's presidency; while the two countries worked together on issues such as climate change, the China-United States relationship also experienced tensions regarding territorial claims in the South China Sea and the East China Sea.{{cite news|last1=Nakamura|first1=David|title=China testing Obama as it expands its influence in Southeast Asia|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/china-testing-obama-as-it-expands-its-influence-in-southeast-asia/2016/03/01/d60e1248-dbdf-11e5-891a-4ed04f4213e8_story.html|access-date=April 25, 2016|newspaper=The Washington Post|date=March 1, 2016}} In 2016, the United States hosted a summit with the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) for the first time, reflecting the Obama administration's pursuit of closer relations with ASEAN and other Asian countries.{{cite news|last1=Makinen|first1=Julie|title=Obama hosts ASEAN summit, a first in the U.S.|url=https://www.latimes.com/world/asia/la-fg-asean-summit-qa-20160215-story.html|access-date=September 12, 2016|newspaper=LA Times|date=February 15, 2016}} After helping to encourage openly contested elections in Myanmar, Obama lifted many US sanctions on Myanmar.{{cite news|last1=Gowen|first1=Annie|title=Burma victory caps a decades-long battle for opposition leader Suu Kyi|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/burmas-opposition-party-clinches-landslide-election-victory/2015/11/13/c1ff23c6-8984-11e5-bd91-d385b244482f_story.html|access-date=November 15, 2015|newspaper=The Washington Post|date=November 13, 2015}}{{cite news|last1=Hirschfield Davis|first1=Julie|author1-link=Julie Hirschfield Davis|title=Obama Pledges to Lift All Sanctions Against Myanmar|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2016/09/15/world/asia/myanmar-obama.html|access-date=September 15, 2016|work=The New York Times|date=September 14, 2016}} Obama also increased US military ties with Vietnam,{{cite news|last1=Ap|first1=Tiffany|last2=Rizzo|first2=Jennifer|last3=Liptak|first3=Kevin|title=Obama lifts U.S. arms ban on Vietnam|url=http://www.cnn.com/2016/05/23/politics/obama-vietnam-trip/|access-date=August 2, 2016|publisher=CNN|date=May 23, 2016}} Australia, and the Philippines, increased aid to Laos, and contributed to a warming of relations between South Korea and Japan.{{cite news|last1=Nakamura|first1=David|title=An incomplete victory lap for Obama on his final presidential trip to Asia|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/no-victory-lap-for-obama-on-his-final-presidential-trip-to-asia/2016/09/08/fb9a56ce-75d2-11e6-b786-19d0cb1ed06c_story.html|access-date=September 9, 2016|newspaper=The Washington Post|date=September 8, 2016}} Obama designed the Trans-Pacific Partnership as the key economic pillar of the Asian pivot, though the agreement remains unratified. Obama 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.{{cite news|last1=Hang-Sun|first1=Choe|last2=Perlez|first2=Jane|title=North Korea Tests a Nuclear Device, South Says|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2016/09/09/world/asia/north-korea-nuclear-test.html|access-date=September 9, 2016|work=The New York Times|date=September 8, 2016}}

{{See also|NATO–Russia relations}}

File:Dmitry Medvedev 1 April 2009-1.jpg and Barack Obama before the G20 summit in London on April 1, 2009]]

On taking office, Obama called for a "reset" in relations with Russia, which had declined following the 2008 Russo-Georgian War. While President Bush had successfully pushed for NATO expansion into former Eastern bloc states, the early Obama era saw NATO put more of an emphasis on creating a long-term partnership with Russia.{{cite news|last1=John|first1=Mark|title=After Balkans duo, NATO enlargement to slow|url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-nato-enlargement-sb-idUSTRE5304ZU20090401|access-date=November 19, 2015|work=Reuters|date=April 1, 2009}} Obama and Russian President Dmitry Medvedev worked together on a new treaty to reduce and monitor nuclear weapons, Russian accession to the World Trade Organization, and counterterrorism.{{cite news|last1=Dorning|first1=Mike|title=Return Would Undermine Reset|url=https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2015-02-19/obama-putin|access-date=November 13, 2015|publisher=Bloomberg L.P.|date=February 19, 2015}} On April 8, 2010, Obama and Medvedev signed the New START treaty, a major nuclear arms control agreement that reduced the nuclear weapons stockpiles of both countries and provided for a monitoring regime.{{cite news |url=http://www.cnn.com/2010/POLITICS/04/08/obama.russia.treaty/index.html |title=Obama, Russian President Sign Arms Treaty |publisher=CNN |date=April 8, 2010 |access-date=April 8, 2010}} In December 2010, the Senate ratified New START in a 71–26 vote, with 13 Republicans and all Democrats voting in favor of the treaty.{{cite news|last1=Sheridan|first1=Mary Beth|title=Senate ratifies new U.S.-Russia nuclear weapons treaty|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/12/21/AR2010122104371.html|access-date=November 13, 2015|newspaper=The Washington Post|date=December 22, 2010}} In 2012, Russia joined the World Trade Organization and Obama normalized trade relations with Russia.{{cite news|last1=Palmer|first1=Doug|title=Obama grants Russia 'permanent normal trade relations'|url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-russia-trade-idUSBRE8BJ0XB20121220|access-date=November 19, 2015|work=Reuters|date=December 20, 2012}}

US–Russia relations declined after Vladimir Putin returned to the presidency in 2012. Russia's invasion of Ukraine and annexation of Crimea in response to the Euromaidan movement led to a strong condemnation by Obama and other Western leaders, who imposed sanctions on Russian leaders.{{cite news|last1=Torbati|first1=Yeganeh|title=U.S. imposes more Russian and Ukrainian sanctions|url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-russia-sanctions-idUSKCN0Q42H720150730|access-date=November 15, 2015|work=Reuters|date=July 30, 2015}} The sanctions contributed to the Russian financial crisis (2014–2016).{{cite news|last1=W|first1=C|last2=O|first2=A|title=What's gone wrong with Russia's economy|url=https://www.economist.com/blogs/economist-explains/2014/12/economist-explains-16|access-date=August 19, 2016|publisher=The Economist|date=December 16, 2014}} Some members of Congress from both parties also called for the US to arm Ukrainian forces, but Obama resisted becoming closely involved in the War in Donbas.{{cite news|last1=Steinhauer|first1=Jennifer|title=Defying Obama, Many in Congress Press to Arm Ukraine|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2015/06/12/world/europe/defying-obama-many-in-congress-press-to-arm-ukraine.html|access-date=November 15, 2015|work=The New York Times|date=June 11, 2015}} 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.{{cite news|last1=Sanger|first1=David|title=Obama Strikes Back at Russia for Election Hacking|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2016/12/29/us/politics/russia-election-hacking-sanctions.html|access-date=December 31, 2016|work=The New York Times|date=December 29, 2016}}{{cite news|last1=Miller|first1=Greg|last2=Nakashima |first2=Ellen|last3=Entous|first3=Adam|title=Obama's secret struggle to punish Russia for Putin's election assault|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/graphics/2017/world/national-security/obama-putin-election-hacking/|access-date=June 23, 2017|newspaper=The Washington Post|date=June 23, 2017}} In 2017, after Obama 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.{{cite news |last1=Ruiz |first1=Rebecca R. |last2=Landler |first2=Mark |author2-link=Mark Landler |title=Robert Mueller, Former F.B.I. Director, Is Named Special Counsel for Russia Investigation |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2017/05/17/us/politics/robert-mueller-special-counsel-russia-investigation.html |work=The New York Times |date=May 17, 2017}} The Mueller Report, released in 2019, concludes that Russia undertook a sustained social media campaign and cyberhacking operation to bolster the Trump campaign.{{cite news |last1=Polyakova |first1=Alina |title=What the Mueller Report Tells Us About Russian Influence Operations |url=https://www.lawfaremedia.org/article/what-mueller-report-tells-us-about-russian-influence-operations |publisher=Lawfare |date=April 19, 2019}} The report did not reach a conclusion on allegations that the Trump campaign had colluded with Russia, but, according to Mueller, his investigation did not find evidence "sufficient to charge any member of the [Trump] campaign with taking part in a criminal conspiracy."{{cite news |last1=Bump |first1=Philip |title=Robert Mueller kneecaps President Trump's no collusion, no obstruction mantra |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2019/07/24/robert-mueller-kneecaps-president-trumps-no-collusion-no-obstruction-mantra/ |newspaper=The Washington Post |date=July 24, 2019}}

The relationship between Obama and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (who held office for all but two months of Obama's presidency) was notably icy, with many commenting on their mutual distaste for each other.{{cite news |last1=Goldberg|first1=Jeffrey|title=Explaining the Toxic Obama-Netanyahu Marriage|url=https://www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2015/10/dennis-ross-iran-obama-netanyahu/409420/|access-date=November 15, 2015|work=The Atlantic|date=October 9, 2015}}{{cite news|last1=Collinson|first1=Stephen|title=The personal tension between Obama, Netanyahu|url=http://www.cnn.com/2014/10/29/politics/obama-netanyahu-relationship/|access-date=November 15, 2015|publisher=CNN|date=October 30, 2014}} 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.{{cite news|title=George Mitchell resigns as Middle East envoy|url=http://www.cnn.com/2011/POLITICS/05/13/mitchell.mideast.envoy/|access-date=November 20, 2015 |publisher=CNN|date=May 13, 2011}} In March 2010, Secretary of State Clinton criticized the Israeli government for approving expansion of settlements in East Jerusalem.{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/8565455.stm |work=BBC News |title=Clinton rebukes Israel over homes |date=March 12, 2010 |access-date=May 22, 2010}} Netanyahu strongly opposed Obama's efforts to negotiate with Iran and was seen as favoring Mitt Romney in the 2012 US presidential election. 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.{{cite news|last1=Bresnahan|first1=John|title=Exclusive: Obama brushed off Reid's plea on Palestinian state |url=http://www.politico.com/story/2015/10/reid-obama-israel-palestinians-netanyahu-united-nations-214011|access-date=November 15, 2015 |work=Politico|date=October 1, 2015}} Obama also increased aid to Israel, including a $225 million emergency aid package for the Iron Dome air defense program.{{cite news |last1=Sparshott |first1=Jeffrey |title=Obama Signs Law Providing $225 Million for Israel's Iron Dome |url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/obama-signs-law-providing-225-million-for-israels-iron-dome-1407193842 |work=The Wall Street Journal |date=4 August 2014}}

During Obama's last months in office, his administration chose not to veto United Nations Security Council Resolution 2334, which urged the end of Israeli settlement in the territories that Israel captured in the Six-Day War of 1967. 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 US ally.{{cite news |last1=Collinson|first1=Stephen|last2=Wright|first2=David|last3=Labott|first3=Elise|title=US abstains as UN demands end to Israeli settlements|url=http://www.cnn.com/2016/12/23/politics/israel-official-rips-obama-un-settlements/index.html|access-date=December 25, 2016|publisher=CNN|date=December 24, 2016}}

{{see also|United States free trade agreements}}

File:FTAs with the United States.svg, Colombia, and South Korea]]

Like his predecessor, Obama pursued free trade agreements, in part due to the lack of progress at the Doha negotiations in lowering trade barriers worldwide.{{cite news|last1=Granville|first1=Kevin|title=The Trans-Pacific Partnership Trade Deal Explained|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2015/05/12/business/unpacking-the-trans-pacific-partnership-trade-deal.html|access-date=December 13, 2015|work=The New York Times|date=May 11, 2015}} In October 2011, the United States entered into free trade agreements with Colombia, Panama, and South Korea. Congressional Republicans overwhelmingly supported the agreements, while Congressional Democrats cast a mix of votes. The three agreements had originally been negotiated by the Bush administration, but Obama re-opened negotiations with each country and changed some terms of each deal.{{cite news|last1=Applebaum|first1=Binyamin|title=Congress Ends 5-Year Standoff on Trade Deals in Rare Accord|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2011/10/13/business/trade-bills-near-final-chapter.html?pagewanted=all|access-date=November 13, 2015|work=The New York Times|date=October 12, 2011}}

Obama promoted two significantly larger, multilateral free trade agreements: the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) with eleven Pacific Rim countries, including Japan, Mexico, and Canada, and the proposed Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) with the European Union.{{cite news|last1=Kanter|first1=James|title=U.S. Official Lobbies for Trans-Atlantic Trade Pact|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2014/03/24/business/international/us-official-lobbies-for-trans-atlantic-trade-pact.html|access-date=November 14, 2015|work=The New York Times|date=March 23, 2014}} TPP negotiations began under President Bush, and Obama continued them as part of a long-term strategy that sought to refocus on rapidly growing economies in East Asia.{{cite news|last1=LaFranchi|first1=Howard|title=Trans-Pacific Partnership: Obama pushes US lead role in Asia (+video)|url=http://www.csmonitor.com/USA/Foreign-Policy/2015/0418/Trans-Pacific-Partnership-Obama-pushes-US-lead-role-in-Asia-video|access-date=November 13, 2015|work=The Christian Science Monitor|date=April 18, 2015}} The chief administration goals in the TPP, included: (1) establishing free market capitalism as the main normative platform for economic integration in the region; (2) guaranteeing standards for intellectual property rights, especially regarding copyright, software, and technology; (3) underscore American leadership in shaping the rules and norms of the emerging global order; (4) and blocking China from establishing a rival network.{{cite journal |doi=10.1057/s41311-017-0051-y |title=The strategic value of the Trans-Pacific Partnership and the consequences of abandoning it for the US role in Asia |journal=International Politics |volume=54 |issue=5 |pages=583–597 |year=2017 |last1=Dian |first1=Matteo |s2cid=148677557 }}

After years of negotiations, the 12 countries reached a final agreement on the content of the TPP in October 2015,{{cite news|last1=Nakamura|first1=David|title=Deal reached on Pacific Rim trade pact in boost for Obama economic agenda|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/economy/deal-reached-on-pacific-rim-trade-pact/2015/10/05/7c567f00-6b56-11e5-b31c-d80d62b53e28_story.html|access-date=November 13, 2015|newspaper=The Washington Post|date=October 5, 2015}} and the full text of the treaty was made public in November 2015.{{cite news|title=Trans-Pacific Partnership: vast trade deal made public|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/business-34742074|access-date=November 13, 2015|publisher=BBC|date=November 6, 2015}} 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.{{cite news |url=http://www.democracynow.org/2013/10/4/a_corporate_trojan_horse_obama_pushes |title='A Corporate Trojan Horse': Obama Pushes Secretive TPP Trade Pact, Would Rewrite Swath of U.S. Laws |work=Democracy Now! |date=October 4, 2013 }}{{cite news |last=Carter |first=Zach |date=December 8, 2013 |url=https://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/12/08/tpp-trade-agreement_n_4409211.html |title=Obama Faces Backlash Over New Corporate Powers In Secret Trade Deal |work=The Huffington Post |access-date=December 11, 2013 }}{{cite news |first=Zach |last=Carter |date=June 19, 2013 |url=https://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/06/19/elizabeth-warren-obama-trade_n_3467497.html |title=Elizabeth Warren Opposing Obama Trade Nominee Michael Froman |work=The Huffington Post |access-date=July 15, 2013 }} In July 2015, Congress passed a bill giving trade promotion authority to the president until 2021; trade promotion authority requires Congress to vote up or down on trade agreements signed by the president, with no possibility of amendments or filibusters.{{cite news|last1=Weisman|first1=Jonathan|title=Trade Authority Bill Wins Final Approval in Senate|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2015/06/25/business/trade-pact-senate-vote-obama.html|access-date=November 13, 2015|work=The New York Times|date=June 24, 2015}} The TPP became a major campaign issue in the 2016 elections, with both major party presidential nominees opposing its ratification.{{cite news|last1=Everett|first1=Burgess|last2=Palmer|first2=Doug|title=How Trump and Clinton teamed up to sink trade|url=http://www.politico.com/story/2016/07/pacific-trade-trump-clinton-225504|access-date=July 22, 2016|publisher=Politico|date=July 14, 2016}} After Obama left office, President Trump pulled the United States out of the TPP negotiations, and the remaining TPP signatories later concluded a separate free trade agreement known as the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership.{{cite news |last1=Londoño |first1=Ernesto |last2=Rich |first2=Motoko |title=U.S. Allies Sign Sweeping Trade Deal in Challenge to Trump |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2018/03/08/world/asia/us-trump-tpp-signed.html |work=The New York Times |date=March 8, 2018}}

In June 2011, it was reported that the US Embassy aided Levi's, Hanes contractors in their fight against an increase in Haiti's minimum wage.[https://www.thenation.com/article/archive/wikileaks-haiti-let-them-live-3-day/ WikiLeaks Haiti: Let Them Live on $3 a Day] www.thenation.com, 1 June 2021

In 2002, the Bush 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 repeatedly stated his desire to close the detention camp, arguing that the camp's extrajudicial nature provided a recruitment tool for terrorist organizations.{{cite news|last1=Liptak|first1=Kevin|title=Obama still plans to shut Guantanamo. Can he?|url=http://www.cnn.com/2015/11/19/politics/guantanamo-bay-prison-obama/|access-date=December 22, 2015|publisher=CNN|date=November 19, 2015}} 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.{{cite news |agency=AP|title=Obama Seeks Halt to Legal Proceedings at Guantanamo|date=January 21, 2009 |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/01/20/AR2009012004743_pf.html |access-date=January 21, 2009 | newspaper=The Washington Post | first=Peter | last=Finn}} On January 22, 2009, Obama signed an executive order restricting interrogators to methods listed and authorized by an Army Field Manual,{{cite web|author=Obama, Barack |title=Executive Order 13491 – Ensuring Lawful Interrogations |publisher=The White House |date=January 22, 2009 |url=https://www.whitehouse.gov/the_press_office/EnsuringLawfulInterrogations/ |access-date=January 26, 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090126061153/http://www.whitehouse.gov/the_press_office/EnsuringLawfulInterrogations/ |archive-date=January 26, 2009 }} ending the use of "enhanced interrogation techniques".{{cite news |publisher=CNN|title=Obama signs executive order to close Guantanamo Bay |date=January 22, 2009 |url=http://edition.cnn.com/2009/POLITICS/01/22/guantanamo.order/index.html|access-date=January 22, 2009}} In March 2009, the administration announced that it would no longer refer to prisoners at Guantanamo Bay as enemy combatants, but it also asserted that the president had the authority to detain terrorism suspects there without criminal charges.{{cite news |work=The New York Times |title=U.S. Won't Label Terror Suspects as 'Combatants{{'-}}|date=March 13, 2009 |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2009/03/14/us/politics/14gitmo.html |access-date=March 15, 2009 | first=William | last=Glaberson}} The prisoner population of the detention camp fell from 242 in January 2009 to 91 in January 2016, in part due to the Periodic Review Boards that Obama established in 2011.{{cite news|last1=Schwartz|first1=Mattathias|title=Is Obama Serious About Closing Guantánamo?|url=https://www.newyorker.com/news/daily-comment/is-obama-serious-about-closing-guantanamo|access-date=February 18, 2016|publisher=New Yorker|date=January 22, 2016}} Many members of Congress strongly opposed plans to transfer Guantanamo detainees to prisons in US states, and the Obama administration was reluctant to send potentially dangerous prisoners to other countries, especially unstable countries such as Yemen. Though Obama continued to advocate for the closure of the detention camp,{{cite news|last1=Phillips|first1=Amber|title=The 7 big things on President Obama's to-do list, with one year to go|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/the-fix/wp/2015/11/12/the-7-big-things-on-president-obamas-to-do-list-with-one-year-to-go/?tid=pm_politics_pop_b|access-date=November 13, 2015|newspaper=The Washington Post|date=November 12, 2015}} 41 inmates remained in Guantanamo when Obama left office.{{cite news|last1=Ryan|first1=Missy|last2=Tate|first2=Julie|title=With final detainee transfer, Obama's Guantanamo policy takes its last breath|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/national-security/with-final-detainee-transfer-obamas-guantanamo-policy-takes-its-last-breath/2016/12/28/dfdf8cb2-cd0f-11e6-a747-d03044780a02_story.html|access-date=January 11, 2017|newspaper=The Washington Post|date=December 28, 2016}}{{cite news|last1=Savage|first1=Charlie|title=Obama Transfers 4 From Guantánamo, Leaving 41 There as Term Ends|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2017/01/19/us/politics/obama-transfers-4-from-guantanamo-leaving-41-there-as-term-ends.html|access-date=January 20, 2017|work=The New York Times|date=January 19, 2017}}

{{Main|Killing of Osama bin Laden}}

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File:Obama and Biden await updates on bin Laden.jpg to monitor the progress of Operation Neptune Spear.]]

{{wikisource|Remarks by the President on Osama bin Laden}}

The Obama administration launched a successful operation that resulted in the death of Osama bin Laden, the leader of al-Qaeda, a global Sunni Islamist militant organization responsible for the September 11 attacks and several other terrorist attacks.{{cite magazine |first=Nicholas |last=Schmidle |title=Getting Bin Laden |magazine=The New Yorker |date=August 1, 2011 |url=https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2011/08/08/getting-bin-laden |access-date=August 24, 2019 }} Starting with information received in July 2010, the CIA located Osama bin Laden in a large compound in Abbottabad, Pakistan, a suburban area {{convert|35|mi|km}} from Islamabad.{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2011/05/03/world/asia/03intel.html?pagewanted=all|title=Clues Gradually Led to the Location of Osama bin Laden|last=Mazzetti|first=Mark|author2=Helene Cooper |author3=Peter Baker |date=May 3, 2011|work=The New York Times|access-date=May 4, 2011}} CIA head Leon Panetta reported this intelligence to Obama in March 2011. Meeting with his national security advisers over the course of the next six weeks, Obama rejected a plan to bomb the compound, and authorized a "surgical raid" to be conducted by United States Navy SEALs. The operation took place on May 1, 2011, resulting in the death of bin Laden and the seizure of papers and computer drives and disks from the compound.{{cite news |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/osama-bin-laden-is-killed-by-us-forces-in-pakistan/2011/05/01/AFXMZyVF_story.html |title=Osama bin Laden buried at sea after being killed by U.S. forces in Pakistan |newspaper=The Washington Post |date=May 2, 2011 |first1=Philip |last1=Rucker |first2=Scott |last2=Wilson |first3=Anne E. |last3=Kornblut |access-date=August 24, 2019 }} Bin Laden's body was identified through DNA testing, and buried at sea several hours later.{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2011/05/02/world/asia/osama-bin-laden-is-killed.html|title=Bin Laden Is Dead, Obama Says|last=Baker|first=Peter|author2=Helene Cooper |author3=Mark Mazzetti |date=May 2, 2011|work=The New York Times|access-date=May 3, 2011}} Reaction to the announcement was positive across party lines, including from his two predecessors George W. Bush and Bill Clinton,{{cite news|url=https://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-05-02/death-of-bin-laden-may-strengthen-obama-s-hand-in-domestic-foreign-policy.html|title=Death of Bin Laden May Strengthen Obama's Hand in Domestic, Foreign Policy|last=Dorning|first=Mike|date=May 2, 2011|publisher=Bloomberg News|access-date=May 4, 2011}} and from many countries around the world.{{cite news|url=https://www.npr.org/2011/05/02/135919728/world-reaction-to-osama-bin-ladens-death|title=World Reaction To Osama Bin Laden's Death|date=May 2, 2011|publisher=NPR|access-date=May 4, 2011}}

{{see also|Drone attacks in Pakistan|Yemeni Civil War (2014–present)}}

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.{{cite magazine|last1=Coll|first1=Steve|author1-link=Steve Coll|title=THE UNBLINKING STARE|url=https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2014/11/24/unblinking-stare|access-date=November 15, 2015|magazine=The New Yorker|date=November 24, 2014}} Though the drone strikes killed high-ranking terrorists, they were also criticized for resulting in civilian casualties.{{cite news|last1=Shane|first1=Scott|title=Drone Strikes Reveal Uncomfortable Truth: U.S. Is Often Unsure About Who Will Die|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2015/04/24/world/asia/drone-strikes-reveal-uncomfortable-truth-us-is-often-unsure-about-who-will-die.html|access-date=November 15, 2015|work=The New York Times|date=April 23, 2015}} A 2013 Pew research poll showed that the strikes were broadly unpopular in Pakistan,{{cite web|url=http://www.pewglobal.org/2013/05/07/on-eve-of-elections-a-dismal-public-mood-in-pakistan/|title=On Eve of Elections, Dismal Mood in Pakistan|publisher=Pew Research|date=May 7, 2013|access-date=August 19, 2013}} and some former members of the Obama administration have criticized the strikes for causing a backlash against the United States. However, based on 147 interviews conducted in 2015, professor Aqil Shah argued that the strikes were popular in North Waziristan, the area in which most of the strikes take place, and that little blowback occurred.{{cite news|last1=Shah|first1=Aqil|title=Drone blowback in Pakistan is a myth. Here's why.|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/monkey-cage/wp/2016/05/17/drone-blow-back-in-pakistan-is-a-myth-heres-why/|access-date=July 22, 2016|newspaper=The Washington Post|date=May 17, 2016}} In 2009, the UN special investigator on extrajudicial, summary, or arbitrary executions called the United States' reliance on drones "increasingly common" and "deeply troubling", and called on the US to justify its use of targeted assassinations rather than attempting to capture al Qaeda or Taliban suspects.{{cite news |url=http://www.cnn.com/2009/WORLD/asiapcf/06/04/drone.attacks/ |title=U.N. envoy calls for probe into U.S. drone attacks |publisher=CNN |date=June 4, 2009}}{{cite news |last=Nebehay |first=Stephanie |title=U.N. Investigator Decries U.S. Use of Killer Drones |work=Reuters |date=June 19, 2012 |url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-un-drones-idUSBRE85I0FM20120619 }}

Starting in 2011, in response to Obama's attempts to avoid civilian casualties, the Hellfire R9X "flying Ginsu" missile was developed. It is usually fired from drones. It does not have an explosive warhead that causes a large area of destruction but kills by using six rotating blades that cut the target into shreds. On July 31, 2022, Al-Qaeda leader Ayman al-Zawahiri was killed by an R9X missile.{{cite web | last=Weber | first=Peter | title=How the U.S. killed Ayman al-Zawahiri – and only al-Zawahiri – with a R9X 'flying Ginsu' missile | website=The Week | date=August 6, 2022 | url=https://theweek.com/briefing/1015696/how-the-us-killed-al-qaeda-leader-ayman-al-zawahiri-and-only-al-zawahiri-with-a | access-date=August 6, 2022 | quote=The R9X was developed starting in 2011 in response to then-President Barack Obama's emphasis on avoiding civilian deaths in drone strikes against terrorist targets in Iraq, Afghanistan, Syria, and other conflict zones. }} In 2013, Obama 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. The number of drone strikes fell substantially after the announcement of the new policy.

As of 2015, US drone strikes had killed eight American citizens, one of whom, Anwar al-Aulaqi, was targeted. The targeted killing of a United States citizen raised Constitutional issues, as it is the first known instance of a sitting US president ordering the extrajudicial killing of a US citizen.{{cite news|url=http://www.thenation.com/blog/163724/assassinating-awlaki-obama-can-kill-anyone-he-wants|title=Assassinating Awlaki: Obama Can Kill Anyone He Wants To|author=Robert Dreyfuss|work=The Nation|date=September 30, 2011|author-link=Robert Dreyfuss}}{{cite web|author=Kevin Drum |url=https://www.motherjones.com/kevin-drum/2011/09/obama-assassinates-us-citizen |title=Obama Assassinates U.S. Citizen |work=Mother Jones |access-date=August 7, 2013}} Obama 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.{{cite news| url=https://www.nytimes.com/2010/04/07/world/middleeast/07yemen.html | work=The New York Times | title=U.S. Approves Targeted Killing of American Cleric | first=Scott | last=Shane | date=April 6, 2010 | access-date=May 22, 2010}}{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2011/10/09/world/middleeast/secret-us-memo-made-legal-case-to-kill-a-citizen.html?_r=1&pagewanted=all|title=Secret U.S. Memo Made Legal Case to Kill a Citizen|work=The New York Times|author=Charlie Savage|date=October 8, 2011|author-link=Charlie Savage (author)}} 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.{{Cite news | last1 = Becker | first1 = Jo | last2 = Shane | first2 = Scott | title =Secret 'Kill List' Proves a Test of Obama's Principles and Will | newspaper =The New York Times | pages =7–8 | date =May 29, 2012 | url =https://www.nytimes.com/2012/05/29/world/obamas-leadership-in-war-on-al-qaeda.html | access-date = June 14, 2012}}

{{main|Cuban thaw}}

{{see also|Cuba–United States relations}}

File:Handshake between the President and Cuban President Raúl Castro.jpg and Raul Castro during the Summit of the Americas in Panama City on April 11, 2015]]

The Obama presidency saw a major thaw in relations with Cuba, which the United States embargoed following the Cuban Revolution and the 1962 Cuban Missile Crisis. Starting in the spring of 2013 secret meetings were conducted between the United States and Cuba, with the meetings taking place in the neutral locations of Canada and Vatican City.{{cite news|last1=Warren|first1=Strobel|title=Secret talks in Canada, Vatican City led to Cuba breakthrough|url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-cuba-usa-reconstruction-idUSKBN0JV2DM20141217|agency=Reuters|access-date=December 21, 2014|newspaper=Reuters|date=December 17, 2014}} The Vatican was consulted initially in 2013 as Pope Francis advised the US and Cuba to exchange prisoners as a gesture of goodwill.{{cite news|last1=Morello|first1=Carol|last2=DeYoung|first2=Karen|title=Secret U.S.-Cuba diplomacy ended in landmark deal on prisoners, future ties|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/national-security/secret-diplomacy-with-cuba-ended-in-breakthrough-deal/2014/12/17/c51b3ed8-8614-11e4-a702-fa31ff4ae98e_story.html|newspaper=The Washington Post|access-date=December 21, 2014}} On December 10, 2013, Cuban President Raúl Castro, in a significant public moment, shook hands with and greeted Obama at Nelson Mandela's memorial service in Johannesburg.{{citation needed|date=April 2020}} In December 2014, Cuba released Alan Gross in exchange for the remaining members of the Cuban Five. That same month, President Obama ordered the restoration of diplomatic ties with Cuba.{{cite news|last1=Baker|first1=Peter|title=U.S. to Restore Full Relations With Cuba, Erasing a Last Trace of Cold War Hostility|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2014/12/18/world/americas/us-cuba-relations.html|access-date=November 14, 2015|work=The New York Times|date=December 17, 2014}} Obama stated that he was normalizing relationships because the economic embargo had been ineffective in persuading Cuba to develop a democratic society.{{cite news|last1=Baker|first1=Peter|title=U.S. to Restore Full Relations With Cuba, Erasing a Last Trace of Cold War Hostility|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2014/12/18/world/americas/us-cuba-relations.html|website=The New York Times|date=December 17, 2014|access-date=December 21, 2014}} In May 2015, Cuba was taken off the United States's list of State Sponsors of Terrorism.{{cite news |url= https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/u-s-officially-removes-cuba-state-sponsor-terrorism-list-n366621 |title= U.S. Officially Removes Cuba From State Sponsors of Terrorism List |date= May 29, 2015 |first1= Katie |last1= Wall |work= NBC News |access-date= May 29, 2015}} In August 2015, following the restoration of official diplomatic relations, the United States and Cuba reopened their respective embassies.{{cite news|last1=Oppman|first1=Patrick|title=Raising of Old Glory in Havana expected to help heal old wounds|url=http://www.cnn.com/2015/08/14/world/u-s--embassy-reopens-cuba-havana/|access-date=November 14, 2015|publisher=CNN|date=August 14, 2015}} In March 2016, Obama visited Cuba, making him the first American president to set foot on the island since Calvin Coolidge.{{cite news|last1=Pace|first1=Julie|title=With visit, Obama aims to push acrimony with Cuba into past|url=http://bigstory.ap.org/article/f720c854ada84ffe8269b32a6e6d994e/eyeing-new-future-us-cubans-await-visit-obama|access-date=March 20, 2016|publisher=AP|date=March 20, 2016|archive-date=March 20, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160320205027/http://bigstory.ap.org/article/f720c854ada84ffe8269b32a6e6d994e/eyeing-new-future-us-cubans-await-visit-obama}} In 2017, Obama ended the "wet feet, dry feet policy", which had given special rights to Cuban immigrants to the United States.{{cite news|last1=Anderson|first1=Jon Lee|title=Obama's Last Big Cuba Move|url=https://www.newyorker.com/news/daily-comment/obamas-last-big-cuba-move|access-date=January 14, 2017|publisher=New Yorker|date=January 13, 2017}} The restored ties between Cuba and the US were seen as a boon to broader Latin America–United States relations, as Latin American leaders unanimously approved of the move.{{cite news|last1=Horsley|first1=Scott|title=With A Handshake And More, Obama Shifts U.S.-Latin America Policy|url=https://www.npr.org/sections/itsallpolitics/2015/04/13/399236626/with-a-handshake-and-more-obama-shifts-u-s-latin-america-policy|access-date=November 15, 2015|publisher=NPR|date=April 13, 2015}}{{cite news|last1=Welsh|first1=Teresa|title=Renewed U.S.-Cuba Ties Will Benefit Larger Relations With Latin America|url=https://www.usnews.com/news/articles/2014/12/18/renewed-us-cuba-ties-will-benefit-relations-with-latin-america|access-date=November 14, 2015|publisher=U.S. News & World Report|date=December 18, 2014}} Presidential candidate Donald Trump promised to reverse the Obama policies and return to a hard line on Cuba.{{cite journal |url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/319402691 |journal=Social Research |volume=84#2 |year=2017 |first1=Philip |last1=Brenner |first2=Teresa García |last2=Castro |title=A Long Legacy of Distrust and the Future of Cuban-US Relations }}

{{further|Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action}}

File:The President Announces a Historic Nuclear Deal with Iran.webm

Iran and the United States have had a poor relationship since the Iranian Revolution and the Iran hostage crisis, and tensions continued during the Obama administration due to issues such as the Iranian nuclear program and Iran's alleged sponsorship of terrorism. On taking office, Obama focused on negotiations with Iran over the status of its nuclear program, working with the other P5+1 powers to adopt a multilateral agreement.{{cite news|last1=Cohen|first1=Roger|title=The Making of an Iran Policy|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2009/08/02/magazine/02Iran-t.html|access-date=December 17, 2015|work=The New York Times|date=July 30, 2009}} Obama's stance differed dramatically from the more hawkish position of his predecessor, George W. Bush,{{cite magazine|last1=Romero|first1=Francis|title=George W. Bush and the Axis of Evil|url=https://content.time.com/time/specials/packages/article/0,28804,2044176_2044193_2044190,00.html|access-date=November 18, 2015|magazine=Time|date=January 25, 2011}} as well as the stated positions of most of Obama's rivals in the 2008 presidential campaign.{{cite news|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/07/24/AR2007072401534_pf.html |title=Obama Debate Comments Set Off Firestorm |date= July 24, 2007 |access-date=April 2, 2015 |newspaper= The Washington Post}} In June 2013, Hasan Rouhani won election as the new President of Iran, and Rouhani called for a continuation of talks on Iran's nuclear program.{{cite news|title=Iran nuclear agreement: A timeline|url=http://www.cbsnews.com/media/iran-nuclear-agreement-timeline/4/|access-date=December 4, 2015|agency=AP|publisher=CBS|date=July 14, 2015}} In November 2013, Iran and the P5 announced an interim agreement, and in April 2015, negotiators announced that a framework agreement had been reached.{{cite web|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2015/04/03/world/middleeast/iran-nuclear-talks.html |work= The New York Times |date= April 2, 2015 |access-date= April 2, 2015 |title=Iran Agrees to Framework of Nuclear Deal}} Congressional Republicans, who along with Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu had strongly opposed the negotiations,{{cite web|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2015/03/10/world/asia/white-house-faults-gop-senators-letter-to-irans-leaders.html |work= The New York Times |title= G.O.P. Senators' Letter to Iran About Nuclear Deal Angers White House |access-date= April 2, 2015 |date= March 9, 2015 }} attempted but failed to pass a Congressional resolution rejecting the six-nation accord.{{cite news|last1=Steinhauer|first1=Jennifer|title=Democrats Hand Victory to Obama on Iran Nuclear Deal|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2015/09/11/us/politics/iran-nuclear-deal-senate.html|access-date=November 13, 2015|work=The New York Times|date=September 10, 2015}} Under the agreement, Iran promised to limit its nuclear program and to provide access to International Atomic Energy Agency inspectors, while the US and other countries agreed to reduce sanctions on Iran.{{cite news|last1=Broad|first1=William|title=The Iran Nuclear Deal – A Simple Guide|url=https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2015/03/31/world/middleeast/simple-guide-nuclear-talks-iran-us.html|access-date=December 4, 2015|work=The New York Times|date=July 14, 2015}} The partisan fight over the Iran nuclear deal exemplified a broader ideological disagreement regarding American foreign policy in the Middle East and how to handle adversarial regimes, as many opponents of the deal considered Iran to be an implacably hostile adversary who would inevitably break any agreement.{{cite news|last1=Fisher|first1=Max|title=Why we fight about Iran|url=https://www.vox.com/2016/1/20/10794186/iran-debate|access-date=January 20, 2016|publisher=Vox|date=January 20, 2016}}

{{see also|Arab Spring}}

File:Arab Spring and Regional Conflict Map.svg experienced turmoil during the Arab Spring.
{{legend2|#800000|Civil war}} {{legend2|#800080|Government overthrown multiple times}} {{legend2|#000018|Government overthrown}} {{legend2|#008080|Protests and governmental changes}} {{legend2|#d43f00|Major protests}} {{legend2|#deaa87|Minor protests}}]]

After a sudden revolution in Tunisia in 2011,{{cite web|first=Yasmine|last=Ryan |url=http://english.aljazeera.net/indepth/features/2011/01/2011126121815985483.html |title=How Tunisia's revolution began|publisher=Al Jazeera |date=January 26, 2011 |access-date=June 13, 2012}} protests occurred in almost every Arab state. The wave of demonstrations became known as the Arab Spring, and the handling of the Arab Spring played a major role in Obama's foreign policy.{{cite news|last1=Black|first1=Ian|title=Barack Obama, the Arab spring and a series of unforeseen events|url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2012/oct/21/barack-obama-arab-spring-cairo-speech|access-date=December 14, 2015|work=The Guardian|date=October 21, 2012}} After three weeks of unrest, Egyptian president Hosni Mubarak resigned at the urging of President Obama.{{cite news|last1=Cooper|first1=Helene|title=In Arab Spring, Obama Finds a Sharp Test|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2012/09/25/us/politics/arab-spring-proves-a-harsh-test-for-obamas-diplomatic-skill.html|access-date=November 15, 2015|work=The New York Times|date=September 24, 2012}} General Abdel Fattah el-Sisi eventually took power from Egyptian president Mohammed Morsi in a 2013 coup d'état, prompting the US to cut off arms shipments to its long-time ally. However, Obama resumed the shipments in 2015.{{cite news|last1=Liptak|first1=Kevin|title=Obama lifts freeze, ships arms to Egypt|url=http://www.cnn.com/2015/03/31/politics/obama-egypt-aid-f-16s-tanks/|access-date=November 15, 2015|publisher=CNN|date=March 31, 2015}} Yemen experienced a revolution and then civil war, leading to a Saudi military campaign that received logistical and intelligence assistance from the United States.{{cite news|last1=Naylor|first1=Hugh|title=Yemen is turning into Saudi Arabia's Vietnam|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/middle_east/saudi-arabia-cant-find-its-way-out-of-yemens-messy-war/2015/11/12/4d70ce26-84e1-11e5-8bd2-680fff868306_story.html|access-date=November 15, 2015|newspaper=The Washington Post|date=November 13, 2015}} The Obama 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.{{cite news |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/us-saudi-arabia-yemen-war-support-military-houthis-bombing-campaign-crisis-a7472546.html |title=America 'agrees to stop selling some arms' to Saudi Arabia |work=The Independent |date=December 13, 2016 }} The UN accused the Saudi-led coalition of "complete disregard for human life".{{Cite news|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/middle-east/yemen-civil-war-saudi-arabia-air-strikes-civilian-deaths-one-day-killed-un-united-nations-a8131841.html|title=Saudi-led air strikes in Yemen killed 68 civilians in one day, UN says|work=The Independent|access-date=June 5, 2018|language=en-GB}}{{cite journal|url=https://www.hrw.org/report/2016/07/11/bombing-businesses/saudi-coalition-airstrikes-yemens-civilian-economic-structures|title=Bombing Businesses – Saudi Coalition Airstrikes on Yemen's Civilian Economic Structures|journal=Human Rights Watch |date=July 11, 2016|last1=Motaparthy |first1=Priyanka }}{{Cite news|url=https://www.almasdarnews.com/article/death-toll-from-saudi-airstrike-on-yemeni-wedding-rises-to-88-report/|title=Death toll from Saudi airstrike on Yemeni wedding rises to 88: report|date=April 23, 2018|work=AMN – Al-Masdar News {{!}} المصدر نيوز|access-date=June 5, 2018|language=en-US|archive-date=April 1, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190401182936/https://www.almasdarnews.com/article/death-toll-from-saudi-airstrike-on-yemeni-wedding-rises-to-88-report/}}

{{see also|First Libyan Civil War}}

Libya was strongly affected by the Arab Spring. Anti-government protests broke out in Benghazi, Libya, in February 2011,{{cite web|url=http://www.alarabiya.net/articles/2011/02/16/137834.html |title=Clash breaks out as Libya braces for 'day of anger' |publisher=Al Arabiya |access-date=August 7, 2013|date=February 16, 2011 }} and the Gaddafi government responded with military force.{{cite web|url=http://www.aljazeera.com/news/africa/2011/02/201122214042786138.html |title=Nations condemn Libyan crackdown |publisher=Al Jazeera |access-date=August 7, 2013}} The Obama administration initially resisted calls to take strong action{{cite news|url=https://www.foxnews.com/politics/obama-administration-urged-to-squeeze-libya-take-concrete-action/|title=Obama administration Urged to Squeeze Libya, Take Concrete Action | publisher=Fox News Channel | date=February 22, 2011}} but relented after the Arab League requested Western intervention in Libya.{{Cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2011/mar/17/libya-no-fly-zone-united-nations|title=Britain, France and US prepare for air strikes against Gaddafi | location=London |work=The Guardian|first1=Nicholas|last1=Watt|first2=Ewen|last2=MacAskill|first3=Ed|last3=Pilkington|first4=Ian|last4=Black|first5=Luke|last5=Harding|date=March 17, 2011}} In March 2011, international reaction to Gaddafi's military crackdown culminated in a United Nations resolution to enforce a no fly zone in Libya. Obama authorized US forces to participate in international air attacks on Libyan air defenses using Tomahawk cruise missiles to establish the protective zone.{{cite news |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-12813757 |title=Gaddafi 'not targeted' by allied strikes |work=BBC News |date=March 21, 2011 }}{{cite news|url=http://www.cnn.com/2011/WORLD/africa/03/28/libya.us.military.capabilities/index.html|title=US providing 'unique capabilities' to the Libya mission|last=Rizzo|first=Jennifer|publisher=CNN|date=June 10, 2011 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231014183729/http://www.cnn.com/2011/WORLD/africa/03/28/libya.us.military.capabilities/index.html |archive-date= Oct 14, 2023 }} The intervention was led by NATO, but Sweden and three Arab nations also participated in the mission.{{Cite web|url=https://obamawhitehouse.archives.gov/the-press-office/2011/03/28/remarks-president-address-nation-libya|work=whitehouse.gov|title=Remarks by the President in Address to the Nation on Libya|via=National Archives|date=March 28, 2011 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240330063340/https://obamawhitehouse.archives.gov/the-press-office/2011/03/28/remarks-president-address-nation-libya |archive-date= Mar 30, 2024 }} With coalition support, the rebels took Tripoli the following August.{{Cite web|url=https://www.aljazeera.com/news/africa/2011/08/201182282315305270.html|title=Libyan diaspora celebrates fall of Tripoli|website=Al Jazeera |date=22 Aug 2011 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200911050416/https://www.aljazeera.com/news/africa/2011/08/201182282315305270.html |archive-date= Sep 11, 2020 }} The Libyan campaign culminated in the toppling of the Gaddafi regime, but Libya experienced turmoil in the aftermath of the civil war.{{cite news|title=Libya crisis: Obama appeals to Gulf states|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-32360586|access-date=November 13, 2015|publisher=BBC|date=April 18, 2015}} Obama's intervention in Libya provoked criticism from members of Congress and ignited a debate over the applicability of the War Powers Resolution.{{cite news|last1=Savage|first1=Charlie|title=White House Defends Continuing U.S. Role in Libya Operation|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2011/06/16/us/politics/16powers.html|access-date=November 19, 2015|work=The New York Times|date=June 15, 2011}} In September 2012, Islamic militants attacked the American consulate in Benghazi, killing Ambassador J. Christopher Stevens and three other Americans.{{cite news|title=In Libya, deadly fury took U.S. envoys by surprise|url=https://www.reuters.com/article/libya-ambassador-assault-idUSL5E8KCLHR20120913|newspaper=Reuters|author=Hadeel Al Shalchi|access-date=September 13, 2012|date=September 13, 2012}} Republicans strongly criticized the Obama administration's handling of the Benghazi attack, and established a select committee in the House to investigate the attack.{{cite news|last1=Wheaton|first1=Sarah|title=Obama picks new top diplomat to Libya|url=http://www.politico.com/story/2015/07/president-obama-libya-diplomat-peter-bodde-119816|access-date=November 13, 2015|publisher=Politico|date=July 7, 2015}} After his presidency, Obama acknowledged his "worst mistake" of his presidency was being unable to anticipate the aftermath of ousting Gaddafi.{{Cite news|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-36013703|title=Obama admits Libya was 'worst mistake'|date=April 11, 2016|work=BBC|access-date=April 28, 2019|language=en-GB}}

{{see also|Syrian civil war|US intervention in the Syrian civil war}}

Syria was one of the states most heavily affected by the Arab Spring, and by the second half of March 2011, major anti-government protests were being held in Syria.{{cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/interactive/2011/mar/22/middle-east-protest-interactive-timeline|title=Arab spring: an interactive timeline of Middle East protests | location=London |work=The Guardian|first1=Garry|last1=Blight|first2=Sheila|last2=Pulham|first3=Paul|last3=Torpey|date=March 22, 2011}} Though Syria had long been an adversary of the United States, Obama argued that unilateral military action to topple the Bashar al-Assad regime would be a mistake.{{cite web|url=http://www.abc.net.au/news/2012-03-07/obama-warns-against-military-action-in-syria/3872982 |title=Obama seeks to calm 'beat of war' over Syria, Iran |publisher=Australian Broadcasting Corporation |date=March 7, 2012 |access-date=August 7, 2013}} As the protests continued, Syria fell into a protracted civil war,{{cite web|url=https://www.theatlantic.com/infocus/2012/06/syrias-civil-war/100319/ |title=Syria's Civil War |work=The Atlantic |date=June 14, 2012 |access-date=August 7, 2013}} and the United States supported the Syrian opposition against the Assad regime.{{cite news|last1=Pace|first1=Julie|title=Analysis: Obama crosses own red line with Syrian deployment|url=https://news.yahoo.com/analysis-syria-deployment-obama-crosses-own-red-line-071956227--politics.html|access-date=November 15, 2015|agency=AP|publisher=Yahoo!|date=October 31, 2015}} US criticism of Assad intensified after the Ghouta chemical attack, eventually resulting in a Russian-backed deal that saw the Syrian government relinquish its chemical weapons.{{cite news|last1=Beauchamp|first1=Zack|title=Syria's civil war: a brief history|url=https://www.vox.com/2015/9/14/9319293/syrian-refugees-civil-war|access-date=November 15, 2015|publisher=Vox|date=October 2, 2015}} In the chaos of the Syrian Civil War, an Islamist group known as Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) took control of large portions of Syria and Iraq.{{cite news|last1=Shaheen|first1=Kareem|title=Isis 'controls 50% of Syria' after seizing historic city of Palmyra|url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/may/21/isis-palmyra-syria-islamic-state|access-date=November 15, 2015|work=The Guardian|date=May 21, 2015}} ISIL, which had originated as al-Qaeda in Iraq under the leadership of Abu Musab al-Zarqawi,{{cite news|last1=Fisher|first1=Ian|title=In Rise of ISIS, No Single Missed Key but Many Strands of Blame|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2015/11/19/world/middleeast/in-rise-of-isis-no-single-missed-key-but-many-strands-of-blame.html|access-date=July 23, 2016|work=The New York Times|date=November 18, 2015}} eventually challenged al-Qaeda as the most prominent global terrorist group during Obama's second term.{{cite news|last1=Labott|first1=Elise|title=State Department report: ISIS breaking new ground as new leader in terror groups|url=http://www.cnn.com/2015/06/19/politics/isis-report-state-department-terror/|access-date=January 21, 2016|publisher=CNN|date=June 20, 2015}} Starting in 2014, the Obama administration launched air strikes against ISIL and trained anti-ISIL soldiers, while continuing to oppose Assad's regime. The Obama administration also 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.{{cite news|last1=Cunningham|first1=Erin|title=Syria's war creates myriad problems for Turkey|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/middle_east/syrias-war-becomes-a-bigger-problem-for-turkey/2017/01/17/ab4ba450-c7be-11e6-acda-59924caa2450_story.html?hpid=hp_hp-cards_hp-card-world%3Ahomepage%2Fcard|access-date=January 19, 2017|newspaper=The Washington Post|date=January 18, 2017}} Russia launched its own military intervention to aid Assad's regime, creating a complicated multi-party proxy war, though the United States and Russia sometimes cooperated to fight ISIL.{{cite news|last1=Mazzetti|first1=Mark|last2=Barnard|first2=Anne|last3=Schmitt|first3=Eric|title=Military Success in Syria Gives Putin Upper Hand in U.S. Proxy War|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2016/08/07/world/middleeast/military-syria-putin-us-proxy-war.html|access-date=August 7, 2016|work=The New York Times|date=August 6, 2016}} In November 2015, Obama announced a plan to resettle at least 10,000 Syrian refugees in the United States. Obama's "light-footprint" approach to the Syrian conflict was criticized by many as the Syrian Civil War became a major humanitarian catastrophe, but supporters of Obama argued that he deserved credit for keeping the United States out of another costly ground war in the Middle East.{{cite news|last1=Spetalnick|first1=Matt|last2=Landay|first2=Jonathan|title=Syria's civil war to mar Obama legacy|url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-mideast-crisis-syria-obama-analysis-idUSKBN14228S|access-date=January 11, 2017|publisher=Reuters|date=December 13, 2016}}{{cite news|last1=Plett Usher|first1=Barbara|title=Obama's Syria legacy: Measured diplomacy, strategic explosion|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-38297343|access-date=January 13, 2017|publisher=BBC|date=January 13, 2017}}

{{see also|Barack Obama on mass surveillance}}

The 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. The New York Times reported in 2009 that the NSA had been intercepting communications of American citizens including a congressman, although the Justice Department believed that the NSA had corrected its errors.{{cite news|author1=Lichtblau, Eric |author2=Risen, James |name-list-style=amp |date=April 15, 2009|title=N.S.A.'s Intercepts Exceed Limits Set by Congress|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2009/04/16/us/16nsa.html|work=The New York Times |access-date=April 15, 2009}} In 2011, Obama signed a four-year extension of some provisions of the Patriot Act.{{cite news|last1=Cohen|first1=Tom|title=Obama approves extension of expiring Patriot Act provisions|url=http://www.cnn.com/2011/POLITICS/05/27/congress.patriot.act/|access-date=December 16, 2015|publisher=CNN|date=May 27, 2011}} In June 2013 the existence of PRISM, a clandestine mass electronic surveillance data mining program operated by the United States National Security Agency (NSA) since 2007, was leaked by NSA contractor Edward Snowden, who warned that the extent of mass data collection was far greater than the public knew.{{cite news |last=Mezzofiore |first=Gianluca |date=June 17, 2013 |url=http://www.ibtimes.co.uk/articles/479709/20130617/nsa-whistleblower-edward-snowden.htm |title=NSA Whistleblower Edward Snowden: Washington Snoopers Are Criminals |work=International Business Times |access-date=June 30, 2013 }} In the face of international outrage, US government officials defended the PRISM surveillance program by asserting it could not be used on domestic targets without a warrant, that it helped to prevent acts of terrorism, and that it received independent oversight from the federal government's executive, judicial and legislative branches.{{Cite news | first = Shira | last = Ovide | date = June 8, 2013 | url = https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB10001424127887324299104578533802289432458 | title = U.S. Official Releases Details of Prism Program | work = The Wall Street Journal | access-date = June 15, 2013}} In June 2013, Obama stated that the NSA's data gathering practices constitute "a circumscribed, narrow system directed at us being able to protect our people."{{cite news|url=https://www.cbsnews.com/news/obama-defends-narrow-surveillance-programs/|title=Obama Defends 'Narrow' Surveillance Programs|work=CBS News |first=Lucy|last=Madison|date=June 19, 2013 | access-date = June 30, 2013}} In 2015, Obama signed the USA Freedom Act, which extended several provisions of the Patriot Act but ended the collection of bulk telephone records by the NSA.{{cite news|last1=Shear|first1=Michael|title=In Pushing for Revised Surveillance Program, Obama Strikes His Own Balance|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2015/06/04/us/winning-surveillance-limits-obama-makes-program-own.html|access-date=December 16, 2015|work=The New York Times|date=June 3, 2015}}{{cite news|last1=Thorp|first1=Frank|title=Barack Obama Signs 'USA Freedom Act' to Reform NSA Surveillance|url=http://www.nbcnews.com/storyline/nsa-snooping/senate-vote-measure-reform-nsa-surveillance-n368341|access-date=December 16, 2015|publisher=NBC|date=June 2, 2015}}

{{see also|Lobbying in the United States}}

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.{{cite news|last1=Vogel|first1=Kenneth|last2=Allen|first2=Mike|title=Obama finds room for lobbyists|url=http://www.politico.com/story/2009/01/obama-finds-room-for-lobbyists-018128|access-date=August 19, 2016|publisher=Politico|date=January 28, 2009}} On January 21, 2009, Obama 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:{{cite news |last=Tapper|first=Jake|url=http://blogs.abcnews.com/politicalpunch/2009/03/obama-white-hou.html |title=Obama White House Discloses Two More Lobbyist Waivers Granted |work=Political Punch|publisher=ABC News |date=March 10, 2009 |archive-url=http://web.archive.org/web/20090312034136/http://blogs.abcnews.com/politicalpunch/2009/03/obama-white-hou.html|archive-date=March 12, 2009|url-status=dead|access-date=October 19, 2024}} 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.{{cite news |url=https://www.usatoday.com/news/washington/2009-01-27-lobbyist_N.htm |title=Geithner names ex-lobbyist as Treasury chief of staff |work=USA Today |date=January 27, 2009 |access-date=October 19, 2024|first=Fredreka |last=Schouten|archive-url=http://web.archive.org/web/20090309071207/http://www.usatoday.com/news/washington/2009-01-27-lobbyist_N.htm|archive-date=March 9, 2009|url-status=dead}} A 2015 Politico investigation found that, while Obama had instituted incremental reforms and the number of lobbyists fell during Obama's presidency, Obama had failed to close the "revolving door" of officials moving between government and business.{{cite news|last1=Gerstein|first1=Josh|title=How Obama failed to shut Washington's revolving door|url=http://www.politico.com/story/2015/12/barack-obama-revolving-door-lobbying-217042|access-date=August 2, 2016|publisher=Politico|date=December 31, 2015}} However, the Obama administration avoided "conflict of interest" scandals that previous administrations had experienced, in part due to the administration's lobbyist rules.{{cite news|last1=Eilperin|first1=Juliet|title=Obama promised to curb the influence of lobbyists. Has he succeeded?|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/obama-promised-to-curb-the-influence-of-lobbyists-has-he-succeeded/2015/03/22/e9ec766e-ab03-11e4-abe8-e1ef60ca26de_story.html|access-date=December 16, 2015|newspaper=The Washington Post|date=March 22, 2015}}

File:20090124 WeeklyAddress.ogv as President of the United States, discussing the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009.]]

Obama promised that he would run the "most transparent" administration in US history, with mixed results.{{cite news|last1=Arnold|first1=Jason Ross|title=Has Obama delivered the 'most transparent' administration in history?|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/monkey-cage/wp/2015/03/16/has-obama-delivered-the-most-transparent-administration-in-history/|access-date=December 18, 2015|newspaper=The Washington Post|date=March 16, 2015}} 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.gov, allowing the public to review and comment for five days before the president signs the legislation,{{cite web |author=Macon Phillips |title=Change has come to WhiteHouse.gov |date=January 20, 2009 |url=https://obamawhitehouse.archives.gov/blog/change_has_come_to_whitehouse-gov/ |via=National Archives |work=whitehouse.gov |access-date=January 26, 2009 }} but this pledge was twice broken during Obama's first month in office.{{cite news |url=http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0209/18441.html |title=Obama breaks five-day pledge |work=Politico |date=February 5, 2009 }}{{cite web |url=http://politifact.com/truth-o-meter/promises/promise/234/allow-five-days-of-public-comment-before-signing-b/ |title=Barack Obama Campaign Promise No. 234: Allow five days of public comment before signing bills |work=Politifact |date=February 4, 2009 }} On January 21, 2009, by executive order, Obama revoked Executive Order 13233, which had limited access to the records of former United States presidents.{{cite web|url=https://www.whitehouse.gov/the_press_office/ExecutiveOrderPresidentialRecords/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090122234307/http://www.whitehouse.gov/the_press_office/ExecutiveOrderPresidentialRecords/|archive-date=January 22, 2009|title=Executive Order 13489 – Presidential Records|publisher=The White House|access-date=January 22, 2009}} Obama issued instructions to all agencies and departments in his administration to "adopt a presumption in favor" of Freedom of Information Act requests.{{cite news |url=http://voices.washingtonpost.com/federal-eye/2009/01/_in_a_move_that.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090925091823/http://voices.washingtonpost.com/federal-eye/2009/01/_in_a_move_that.html |url-status=dead |archive-date=September 25, 2009 |title=New Obama Orders on Transparency, FOIA Requests |newspaper=The Washington Post |access-date=January 22, 2009}} These actions helped the rate of classification fall to record lows during the Obama administration. In April 2009, the United States Department of Justice released four legal memos from the Bush administration describing in detail controversial interrogation methods the CIA had used on prisoners suspected of terrorism.{{cite news|title=The Torturers' Manifesto|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2009/04/19/opinion/19sun1.html|date=April 18, 2009|work=The New York Times |access-date=April 19, 2009}}{{cite news|author=Smith, R. Jeffrey|title=Justice Dept. Memos' Careful Legalese Obscured Harsh Reality|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/04/18/AR2009041802166.html|date=April 19, 2009|newspaper=The Washington Post |access-date=April 19, 2009}} The Obama administration also 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 continued to make use of secret memos and the state secrets privilege, and he continued to prosecute whistleblowers.

The Obama administration was much more aggressive than the Bush and other previous administrations in their response to whistleblowing and leaks to the press, prompting critics to describe the Obama administration's crackdown as a "war on whistleblowers".{{cite news |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/post-politics/wp/2013/07/02/greenwald-obama-engaged-in-unprecedented-war-on-whistleblowers/ |title=Greenwald: Obama engaged in 'unprecedented war on whistleblowers' |newspaper=The Washington Post }}"{{cite news |url=https://www.thenation.com/article/war-whistleblowers-sin-being-correct/ |date=June 20, 2013 |first=Rick |last=Perlstein |title=The War on Whistleblowers: On the Sin of Being Correct |work=The Nation |access-date=August 24, 2019 |archive-date=August 24, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190824215652/https://www.thenation.com/article/war-whistleblowers-sin-being-correct/ |url-status=dead }} Several people were charged under the previously rarely used leak-related provisions of the Espionage Act of 1917, including Thomas Andrews Drake, a former National Security Agency employee, Stephen Jin-Woo Kim, a State Department contractor, and Jeffrey Sterling. Others prosecuted for leaking information include Shamai Leibowitz, a contract linguist for the Federal Bureau of Investigation,{{cite news|author=Maria Glod|title=Former FBI employee sentenced for leaking classified papers|newspaper=The Washington Post|date=May 25, 2010|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/05/24/AR2010052403795.html|access-date=June 5, 2013}} John Kiriakou, a former CIA analyst,{{cite news|author=Scott Shane|title=Ex-Officer Is First From C.I.A. to Face Prison for a Leak|work=The New York Times|date=January 5, 2013|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2013/01/06/us/former-cia-officer-is-the-first-to-face-prison-for-a-classified-leak.html?pagewanted=1&smid=tw-nytimes&_r=0|access-date=January 6, 2013}} and Chelsea Manning, an intelligence analyst for the US Army whose trial received wide coverage.{{cite news|author=Paul Adams|title=Bradley Manning pleads guilty to some Wikileaks charges|work=BBC News|date=February 28, 2013|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-21610811|access-date=July 16, 2013}} Most notably, Edward Snowden, a technical contractor for the NSA, was charged with theft and the unauthorized disclosure of classified information to columnist Glenn Greenwald.{{cite news|first1=Peter|last1=Finn|first2=Sari|last2=Horwitz|title=U.S. charges Snowden with espionage|newspaper=The Washington Post|date=June 21, 2013|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/national-security/us-charges-snowden-with-espionage/2013/06/21/507497d8-dab1-11e2-a016-92547bf094cc_story.html|access-date=June 21, 2013}} Snowden's disclosures provoked wide array of reactions; many called for Snowden to be pardoned, while others called him a traitor.{{cite news|last1=Fredrickson|first1=Anna|title=Is Snowden ready to come home?|url=http://www.csmonitor.com/USA/Justice/2015/1006/Is-Snowden-ready-to-come-home|access-date=November 21, 2015|work=The Christian Science Monitor|date=October 6, 2015}}{{cite news|last1=Liptak|first1=Kevin|title=White House: No Snowden clemency request|url=http://www.cnn.com/2017/01/17/politics/snowden-no-clemency-request/|access-date=January 17, 2017|publisher=CNN|date=January 17, 2017}}

{{Main|2010 United States elections}}

Attacking Obama relentlessly, emphasizing the stalled economy, and enjoying the anger of the Tea Party Movement, Republicans scored a landslide in the 2010 midterm elections, winning control of the House and gaining seats in the Senate. After the election, John Boehner replaced Nancy Pelosi as Speaker of the House, and Pelosi became the new House Minority Leader. Boehner pledged to repeal Obamacare and cut federal spending.

Obama called the elections "humbling" and a "shellacking", arguing that the defeat came because not enough Americans had felt the effects of the economic recovery.{{Cite news|url=https://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=131048554|title=Obama: Midterm Election Was A 'Shellacking{{'-}}|first1=Michele|last1=Norris|first2=Robert|last2=Siegel|publisher=NPR|date=November 3, 2010|access-date=April 3, 2011 }} The newly empowered House Republicans quickly confronted Obama on issues such as Obamacare and the debt ceiling. The Republican victory in the election also gave Republicans the upper hand in the redistricting that occurred after the 2010 United States census.{{cite news|last1=Giroux|first1=Greg|title=Republicans Win Congress as Democrats Get Most Votes|url=https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2013-03-19/republicans-win-congress-as-democrats-get-most-votes|access-date=November 13, 2015|publisher=Bloomberg L.P.|date=March 18, 2013}}

{{Main|Barack Obama 2012 presidential campaign|2012 United States presidential election}}

{{Further|2012 United States elections|2012 Democratic Party presidential primaries|2012 Democratic National Convention}}

File:ElectoralCollege2012.svg in the 2012 presidential election.]]

On April 4, 2011, Obama announced that he would seek re-election in 2012. He did not face any significant rivals for the Democratic nomination. His Republican opponent was Mitt Romney, a former governor of Massachusetts. Romney called for lower taxes, spending cuts, an increase in defense spending, and a repeal of Obamacare (even though it was based on a Massachusetts healthcare plan developed under Romney).{{cite news|title=US Election 2012 guide: Mitt Romney and Barack Obama's policy positions|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/us-election/9480647/US-Election-2012-guide-Mitt-Romney-and-Barack-Obamas-policy-positions.html |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220112/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/us-election/9480647/US-Election-2012-guide-Mitt-Romney-and-Barack-Obamas-policy-positions.html |archive-date=January 12, 2022 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live|access-date=November 14, 2015|work=The Telegraph|date=August 17, 2012}}{{cbignore}} Obama's campaign was based in Chicago and run by many former members of the White House staff and members of the successful 2008 campaign.{{cite news| url=https://www.economist.com/blogs/democracyinamerica/2011/04/barack_obamas_re-election_campaign | newspaper=The Economist | title=Lack of change you can believe in |date=April 4, 2011|author= E.M.|access-date=November 7, 2012}} Obama won re-election with 332 (out of a total of 538) electoral votes and 51.1% of the popular vote, making him the first person since Dwight Eisenhower to twice win 51 percent of the vote.{{cite news|last1=Giroux|first1=Greg|title=Final Tally Shows Obama First Since '56 to Win 51% Twice|url=https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2013-01-03/final-tally-shows-obama-first-since-56-to-win-51-twice|access-date=November 14, 2015|publisher=Bloomberg L.P.|date=January 4, 2013}} According to exit polls, Obama won a majority of the vote from women, blacks, Hispanics, Asians, people under 45, people making less than $50,000 per year, people inhabiting large or mid-sized cities, liberals, moderates, the unmarried, gays, and people with no college education, some college education, or graduate degrees.{{cite news|title=2012 President Exit Polls|url=http://elections.nytimes.com/2012/results/president/exit-polls|newspaper=The New York Times|access-date=November 18, 2015}} In the concurrent congressional elections, the Democrats also picked up seats in both houses of Congress, but Republicans retained control of the House.

{{Main|2014 United States elections}}

Obama's second mid-term election turned into another wave election, as Republicans won control of the Senate and picked up several governorships.{{cite news|last1=Montanaro|first1=Domenico|title=Breaking down the 2014 Republican wave|url=https://www.pbs.org/newshour/updates/breaking-2014-republican-wave/|access-date=November 13, 2015|publisher=PBS|date=November 5, 2014}} Mitch McConnell replaced Harry Reid as Senate Majority Leader, while Reid became the Senate Minority Leader. Republican control of the Senate gave the party the power to block Obama's executive and judicial nominees.{{cite news|last1=Everett|first1=Burgess|title=The Senate's 'nuclear' fallout|url=http://www.politico.com/story/2015/04/republican-senate-obama-nominees-117128|access-date=November 15, 2015|publisher=Politico|date=April 20, 2015}} The Republican waves in 2010 and 2014 defeated many young Democratic candidates, weakening the farm team of several state Democratic parties.{{cite news|last1=Stolberg|first1=Sheryl Gay|title=In Obama Era, G.O.P. Bolsters Grip in the States|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2015/11/13/us/politics/obama-legacy-in-state-offices-a-shrinking-democratic-share.html|access-date=November 13, 2015|work=The New York Times|date=November 12, 2015}}

{{Main|2016 United States elections}}

{{Further|Hillary Clinton 2016 presidential campaign|Donald Trump 2016 presidential campaign|2016 United States presidential election|First presidential transition of Donald Trump}}

File:ElectoralCollege2016.svg defeated Democrat Hillary Clinton in the 2016 presidential election.]]

File:Barack Obama meets with Donald Trump in the Oval Office (crop 2).jpg in the Oval Office on November 10, 2016]]

The 2016 elections took place on November 8. Obama was term-limited in 2016 due to the 22nd Amendment, though Obama's approval ratings may have impacted his party's ability to win the race.{{cite news|last1=Kondik|first1=Kyle|title=Clinton's Real Opponent: Barack Obama|url=http://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2015/04/obama-approval-ratings-swing-states-117019|access-date=November 15, 2015|work=Politico|date=April 17, 2015}} In June 2016, with the Democratic primaries nearly complete, Obama endorsed former secretary of state Hillary Clinton as his successor.{{cite news|last1=Thrush|first1=Glenn|author1-link=Glenn Thrush|title=Why Obama Waited|url=http://www.politico.com/story/2016/06/obama-hillary-clinton-endorsement-224153|access-date=June 10, 2016|work=Politico|date=June 9, 2016}} However, according to Glenn Thrush of Politico, Obama had long supported Clinton as his preferred successor, and Obama dissuaded Vice President Biden from running against Clinton.{{cite news|last1=Thrush|first1=Glenn|author1-link=Glenn Thrush|title=Party of Two|url=http://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2016/07/2016-barack-obama-hillary-clinton-democratic-establishment-campaign-primary-joe-biden-elizabeth-warren-214023|access-date=July 18, 2016|work=Politico|date=July 2016}} Obama 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.{{cite magazine|last1=Rhodan|first1=Maya|title=President Obama Is Now Campaigning for His Legacy|url=https://time.com/4526075/hillary-clinton-barack-obama-campaigning/|access-date=October 18, 2016|magazine=Time|date=October 10, 2016}} However, in the general election, Clinton was defeated by Republican nominee Donald Trump, who prominently questioned Obama's place of birth during Obama's first term. In the concurrent congressional elections, Republicans also retained control of their majorities in the House of Representatives and the Senate. During the eight years of Obama's presidency, the Democratic Party experienced a net loss of 1,041 governorships and state and federal legislative seats.{{cite web | title=Democrats Lost Over 1,000 Seats Under Obama | url=https://www.foxnews.com/politics/democrats-lost-over-1000-seats-under-obama/ | date=December 27, 2016 | work=Fox News | access-date=December 27, 2016}} Ronald Brownstein of The Atlantic noted that these losses were similar to those of other post-World War II two-term presidents.{{cite news|last1=Brownstein|first1=Ronald|author1-link=Ron Brownstein|title=What Happens to the Democratic Party After Obama?|url=https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2017/01/the-post-obama-democratic-party/512885/|access-date=January 12, 2017|work=The Atlantic|date=January 12, 2017}}{{cite news|last1=Malone|first1=Claire|title=Barack Obama Won The White House, But Democrats Lost The Country|url=https://fivethirtyeight.com/features/barack-obama-won-the-white-house-but-democrats-lost-the-country/|access-date=January 20, 2017|work=Fivethirtyeight|date=January 19, 2017}}

Trump and Obama frequently communicated during the transition period, and Trump stated that he sought Obama's advice regarding presidential appointments.{{cite news|last1=Naftali|first1=Tim|author1-link=Timothy Naftali|title=Why Trump and Obama are phone buddies|url=http://www.cnn.com/2016/12/08/opinions/obama-trump-consultations-naftali/|access-date=December 9, 2016|work=CNN|date=December 8, 2016}} However, President-elect Trump also criticized some of Obama's actions, including Obama's refusal to veto a UN Resolution condemning Israel settlements.{{cite news|last1=Wagner|first1=John|title=Trump accuses Obama of putting up 'roadblocks' to a smooth transition|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/post-politics/wp/2016/12/28/trump-accuses-obama-of-putting-up-roadblocks-to-a-smooth-transition/|access-date=December 28, 2016|newspaper=The Washington Post|date=December 28, 2016}} In his farewell address, Obama expressed concerns about a divisive political environment, economic inequality, and racism, but remained optimistic about the future.{{cite news|last1=Eilperin|first1=Juliet|last2=Greg|first2=Jaffe|title=In stark farewell, Obama warns of threat to U. S. democracy|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/obama-heads-home-to-chicago-to-say-farewell-the-nation/2017/01/10/bd7c7e3a-d6ad-11e6-9a36-1d296534b31e_story.html|access-date=January 11, 2017|newspaper=The Washington Post|date=January 10, 2017}}{{cite news|last1=Landler|first1=Mark|author1-link=Mark Landler|last2=Bosman|first2=Julie|title=Obama, Saying Goodbye, Warns of Threats to National Unity|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2017/01/11/us/obama-farewell-address-president.html|access-date=January 11, 2017|work=The New York Times|date=January 11, 2017}}

{{See also|Historical rankings of presidents of the United States|United States presidential approval rating|Public image of Barack Obama}}

After his transition period, Obama entered office with an approval rating of 82% according to Gallup,{{cite news|url=http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/washington/2009/01/obama-approval.html|title=Barack Obama's initial approval rating is highest since JFK|access-date=January 28, 2009|work=Los Angeles Times | date=January 27, 2009}} Obama's approval rating fell to 69% after he took office and announced his first policy decisions. Obama received the support of 90% of Democrats, 60% of independents, and 40% of Republicans in January 2009 polls.{{cite web|title=Presidential Approval Ratings – Barack Obama|url=http://www.gallup.com/poll/116479/barack-obama-presidential-job-approval.aspx|website=Gallup|date=March 9, 2008|access-date=January 25, 2017}}. By December 2009, Obama's approval rating had fallen to 51%, with Obama receiving approval from roughly 85% of Democrats, 45% of independents, and just 18% of Republicans. In July 2010, after the passage of the Dodd-Frank and Obamacare, Obama's approval rating stood at 45%, with 47% disapproving. Obama's approval rating would remain stable until the 2010 elections, when Republicans won major gains in both houses of Congress and took control of the House.{{cite news|last1=Kane|first1=Paul|title=Resurgent Republicans take back control of the House|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2010/11/03/us/politics/03elect.html?pagewanted=all|access-date=November 18, 2015|newspaper=The Washington Post|date=November 3, 2010}} Obama's approval ratings climbed back to 50% in January 2011, but fell to 40% in August 2011 following the 2011 debt-ceiling crisis. Obama's approval ratings slowly increased during 2012, and they rose above 50% shortly before the 2012 election, in which Obama defeated Mitt Romney. After his re-election, Obama's approval ratings reached 57%, but that number fell into the low 40s after the federal government shutdown in October 2013. Obama's approval ratings remained in the mid-to-low 40s until the 2014 elections, when Republicans won gains in both houses of Congress and took control of the Senate. In 2015, Obama's approval ratings climbed to the mid-to-high 40s, with his approval and disapproval ratings roughly matching each other. His approval ratings rose into the 50s during the 2016 presidential campaign, and Obama registered a 57% approval rating in November 2016. In a Gallup poll taken in the final week of his presidency, Obama registered a 95% approval rating with Democrats, a 61% approval rating with independents, and a 14% approval rating with Republicans.

Obama's election also provoked a reaction to his race, birthplace, and religion. As president, Obama faced numerous taunts and racial innuendos, though most overt racist comments were limited to a small fringe.{{cite news|last1=Netter|first1=Sarah|title=Racism in Obama's America One Year Later|url=https://abcnews.go.com/WN/Obama/racism-obamas-america-year/story?id=9638178|access-date=November 18, 2015|publisher=ABC|date=January 27, 2010}} Donald Trump theorized that Obama had been born in Kenya; an April 2011 CNN poll taken shortly before Obama released his long-form birth certificate found that 40% of Republicans believed that Obama had been born in Kenya.{{cite news|last1=Silverleib|first1=Alan|title=Obama releases original long-form birth certificate|url=http://www.cnn.com/2011/POLITICS/04/27/obama.birth.certificate/|access-date=November 18, 2015|publisher=CNN|date=April 27, 2011}} Many of these "birthers" argued that because Obama was (allegedly) not a citizen, he was not eligible to serve as president under the natural-born-citizen requirements of the Constitution. Despite Obama's release of his long-form birth certificate, which affirmed that Obama was born in Hawaii, a 2015 CNN poll found that 20% of Americans believed that Obama was born outside of the country. Many also claimed that Obama practiced Islam, and a 2015 CNN poll found that 29% of Americans and 43% of Republicans believed Obama to be a Muslim.{{cite news|last1=Agiesta|first1=Jennifer|title=Misperceptions persist about Obama's faith, but aren't so widespread|url=http://www.cnn.com/2015/09/13/politics/barack-obama-religion-christian-misperceptions/|access-date=November 18, 2015|publisher=CNN|date=September 14, 2015}} Even prior to his election as president, Obama had clarified that he was a long-time member of a church affiliated with the United Church of Christ, a mainline Protestant denomination.{{cite news|title=Obama sets record straight on his religion|url=https://www.nbcnews.com/id/wbna22767392|access-date=November 18, 2015|agency=AP|publisher=NBC|date=January 21, 2008}}

In a January 2010 survey by the Siena Research Institute at Siena College in Loudonville, New York—one year into the Obama presidency—238 US history and political science professors ranked Obama 15th of 43 US presidents.{{cite journal|last1=Lonnstrom|first1=Douglas A.|last2=Kelly|first2=Thomas O. II|date=September 2003|title=The contemporary presidency: rating the presidents: a tracking study|journal=Presidential Studies Quarterly|volume=33|issue=3|pages=625–634|doi=10.1111/1741-5705.00009|jstor=27552516|url=http://www.acsu.buffalo.edu/~jcampbel/documents/LonnstromKellyPresSQ2003.pdf|access-date=October 7, 2014}} In a September 2010 survey by the United States Presidency Centre of the Institute for the Study of the Americas at the University of London School of Advanced Study—one year and eight months into the Obama presidency—47 unnamed respondents who were UK academic specialists on American history and politics ranked 40 of 42 US presidents from 1789 to 2009, not including Obama; if Obama had been included he would have ranked 8th, behind Harry S. Truman but ahead of Ronald Reagan and all other post-World War II US presidents.{{cite web|author=United States Presidency Centre, Institute for the Studies of the Americas|date=January 10, 2011|title=Results of first UK scholars' survey of US presidents: George Washington to Barack Obama to be released 17 January 2011|location=London|publisher=University of London School of Advanced Study|url=http://www.sas.ac.uk/about-us/news/results-first-uk-scholars-survey-us-presidents-george-washington-barack-obama-be-relea|access-date=October 7, 2014}}{{cite web|last=Morgan|first=Iwan|date=January 17, 2011|title=UK survey of US presidents: results and analysis; Franklin D. Roosevelt comes first; George W. Bush is in bottom ten; Barack Obama is highly rated|location=London|publisher=United States Presidency Centre, Institute for the Study of the Americas, University of London School of Advanced Study|url=http://www.community-languages.org.uk/US-presidency-survey/pdf/analysis.pdf|access-date=October 7, 2014}}{{cite news|last=Morgan|first=Iwan|date=January 17, 2011|title=The top US presidents: first poll of UK experts|location=London|work=BBC News|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-12195111|access-date=October 7, 2014}} In a June 2012 survey by Newsweek magazine—three years and five months into the Obama presidency—ten selected American historians and biographers ranked Obama 10th of 20 US presidents since 1900.{{cite web|date=September 24, 2012|title=From Franklin Delano Roosevelt to John F. Kennedy, Newsweek's 10 best presidents (photos)|location=New York|work=The Daily Beast|url=http://www.thedailybeast.com/galleries/2012/09/24/from-franklin-delano-roosevelt-to-john-f-kennedy-newsweek-s-10-best-presidents-photos.html|access-date=October 7, 2014}}{{cite news|last=Kevles|first=Daniel|author-link=Daniel Kevles|date=Autumn 2012|title=The 10 best American presidents; understanding what makes our greatest modern presidents great|magazine=Newsweek|pages=26–28}} In an April 2013 survey by History News Network (HNN) website in Seattle—four years and three months into the Obama presidency—203 scholars from 69 top US colleges and universities gave Obama a B− grade on an A–F scale.{{cite web|date=September 10, 2013|title=Historians give Barack Obama a B-|location=Seattle|publisher=History News Network|url=http://hnn.us/article/153229|access-date=October 7, 2014}} A February 2015 Brookings Institution survey of members of the American Political Science Association put Obama in 18th place out of the 43 presidents.{{cite news|last1=Rottinghaus|first1=Brandon|title=Measuring Obama against the great presidents|url=http://www.brookings.edu/blogs/fixgov/posts/2015/02/13-obama-measuring-presidential-greatness-vaughn-rottinghaus|access-date=November 16, 2015|publisher=Brookings Institution|date=February 13, 2015}} Additionally, a 2011 Gallup poll found that 5% of Americans saw Obama as the country's greatest president.{{Cite news|url=https://www.brookings.edu/blog/fixgov/2015/02/13/measuring-obama-against-the-great-presidents/|title=Measuring Obama against the great presidents {{!}} Brookings Institution|date=March 9, 2017|work=Brookings|access-date=March 9, 2017|language=en-US}}

As Obama left office, historians expressed various opinions about his effectiveness as president, with many noting that subsequent events would determine his ultimate legacy.{{cite news|title=10 Historians on What Will Be Said About President Obama's Legacy|url=https://time.com/4632190/historians-obamas-legacy/|access-date=January 19, 2017|publisher=Time|date=January 18, 2017}}{{cite news|last1=Lewis|first1=Andrew|last2=Djupe|first2=Paul|title=How Will Obama Be Graded By History?|url=https://fivethirtyeight.com/features/how-will-obama-be-graded-by-history/|access-date=January 19, 2017|publisher=Fivethirtyeight|date=January 18, 2017}} There was universal agreement that Obama would long be remembered as the first African-American president.{{cite news|last1=Feldmann|first1=Linda|title=Was Barack Obama a transformative president?|url=http://www.csmonitor.com/USA/Politics/2017/0118/Was-Barack-Obama-a-transformative-president|access-date=January 19, 2017|publisher=Christian Science Monitor|date=January 18, 2017}} Many noted that Obama 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.

{{Portal|2010s|United States|Liberalism|Politics}}

{{Div col}}

• Speeches of Barack Obama
• List of people pardoned by Barack Obama
• Federal political scandals, Barack Obama administration

{{End div col}}

{{Notelist}}

{{Reflist|30em|refs =

{{cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2010/08/28/world/americas/28leak.html |title=U.S. Analyst Is Indicted in Leak Case |date=August 27, 2010 |first=Scott |last=Shane |author-link=Scott Shane |work=The New York Times |access-date=March 11, 2011 }}

{{cite news |url=https://www.washingtonian.com/2011/01/25/indictment-continues-obama-administrations-war-on-leaks/ |title=Indictment Continues Obama administration's War on Leaks |first=Shane |last=Harris |author-link=Shane Harris |work=washingtonian |date=January 25, 2011 |access-date=March 9, 2011 }}

{{cite news |url=http://voices.washingtonpost.com/checkpoint-washington/2010/11/setback_in_case_against_accuse.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120112034622/http://voices.washingtonpost.com/checkpoint-washington/2010/11/setback_in_case_against_accuse.html |url-status=dead |archive-date=January 12, 2012 |title=Setback in case against accused NSA leaker |first=Ellen |last=Nakashima |newspaper=The Washington Post |date=November 29, 2010 |access-date=March 10, 2011 }}

{{cite news |title=Obama Takes a Hard Line Against Leaks to Press |author-link=Scott Shane |first=Scott |last=Shane |newspaper=The New York Times |date=June 11, 2010 |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2010/06/12/us/politics/12leak.html}}

}}

{{Main|Bibliography of Barack Obama}}

{{refbegin|30em}}

• {{cite book |last=Alter |first=Jonathan |author-link=Jonathan Alter |title=The Promise: President Obama, Year One |url=https://archive.org/details/promisepresident00alte |url-access=registration |date=2011 |publisher=Simon & Schuster |isbn=978-1-4391-0119-3 |ref=none }}
• {{cite book|last1=Baker|first1=Peter|title=Obama: The Call of History|date=2017|publisher=New York Times/Callaway|isbn=978-0-935112-90-0|ref=none}}
• Bald, Dan, ed. Collision 2012: Obama vs. Romney and the future of elections in America (2012) [https://www.amazon.com/Collision-2012-Election-Politics-Divided-ebook/dp/B00AEBEUHO/ excerpt]
• Cobb, Jelani. The substance of hope: Barack Obama and the paradox of progress (Bloomsbury, 2020).
• Congressional Quarterly. Congress and the Nation: Volume 13: 2009–2012 (CQ Press, 2013) [https://archive.org/details/isbn_9781452270340/page/n5/mode/2up online], 1075 pp of highly detailed coverage of all major themes
• Congressional Quarterly. Congress and the Nation: Volume 14: 2012–2016 (CQ Press, 2017)
• Conley, Richard S., and Kevin Baron. "Obama's 'Hidden-Hand' Presidency: Myth, Metaphor, or Misrepresentation?." White House Studies 13 (2015): 129–57.
• {{cite book |editor-last=Crotty |editor-first=William |title=The Obama Presidency: Promise and Performance |publisher=Lexington Books |year=2012 |isbn=978-0-7391-7234-6|ref=none}}
• {{cite book |isbn=978-0-415-88770-0 |title=The Obama Presidency: Change and Continuity |last1=Dowdle |first1=Andrew |last2=Van Raemdonck |first2=Dirk C. |last3=Maranto |first3=Robert |year=2011 |publisher=Routledge |ref=none}}
• {{cite book |isbn=978-0-313-39843-8 |url=https://archive.org/details/grading44thpresi0000unse |title=Grading the 44th President: A Report Card on Barack Obama's First Term as a Progressive Leader |last1=Esposito |first1=Luigi |last2=Finley |first2=Laura L. |year=2012 |publisher=Bloomsbury Academic |url-access=registration |ref=none }}
• Gaman-Golutvina, Oxana. "Political elites in the USA under George W. Bush and Barack Obama: Structure and international politics." Historical Social Research/Historische Sozialforschung 43.4 (2018): 141–163. [https://www.ssoar.info/ssoar/bitstream/handle/document/60770/ssoar-hsr-2018-4-gaman-golutvina-Political_Elites_in_the_USA.pdf?sequence=1&isAllowed=y&lnkname=ssoar-hsr-2018-4-gaman-golutvina-Political_Elites_in_the_USA.pdf online]
• Gillespie, Andra. Race and the Obama Administration: Substance, symbols, and hope (Manchester University Press, 2019)
• Goolsbee, Austan D., and Alan B. Krueger. "A retrospective look at rescuing and restructuring General Motors and Chrysler." Journal of Economic Perspectives 29.2 (2015): 3–24. [https://pubs.aeaweb.org/doi/pdfplus/10.1257/jep.29.2.3 online]
• Grunwald, Michael. The new New Deal: the hidden story of change in the Obama era (2012), by TIME magazine editor. [https://www.amazon.com/New-Deal-Hidden-Story-Change/dp/1451642326/ excerpt]
• Holzer, Harold. The Presidents Vs. the Press: The Endless Battle Between the White House and the Media—from the Founding Fathers to Fake News (Dutton, 2020) pp. 377–401. [https://books.google.com/books?id=siY6EAAAQBAJ&dq=HOLZER+PRESS+Harold&pg=PR15 online]
• Kesler, Charles R. I am the change: Barack Obama and the crisis of liberalism (2012); comparing Obama to Woodrow Wilson, Franklin Roosevelt, and Lyndon Johnson. [https://www.amazon.com/Am-Change-Barack-Future-Liberalism/dp/0062073028/ excerpt]
• {{cite book |isbn=978-0-19-938337-5 |title=Obama's Time: A History |last1=Keller |first1=Morton |year=2015 |publisher=Oxford University Press |ref=none}}
• Lansford, Tom, et al. Leadership and Legacy: The Presidency of Barack Obama (SUNY 2021), 320pp [https://www.amazon.com/Leadership-Legacy-Presidency-Barack-Contemporary/dp/143848187X/ excerpt]
• {{cite journal |doi=10.1353/aq.2011.0012 |title=To "Choose Our Better History": Assessing the Obama Presidency in Real Time |journal=American Quarterly |volume=63 |pages=179–189 |year=2011 |last1=McElya |first1=Micki |s2cid=145168784 |ref=none}}
• McGuinn, Patrick. "From no child left behind to the every student succeeds act: Federalism and the education legacy of the Obama administration." Publius 46.3 (2016): 392–415. [https://www.academia.edu/download/46313792/Publius-2016-McGuinn-publius-pjw014.pdf online]{{Dead link|date=April 2024 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}
• {{cite book |isbn=978-1-5381-1151-2 |title=Historical Dictionary of the Barack Obama Administration |last1=Pomante II |first1=Michael J. |last2=Schraufnagel |first2=Scot |year=2018 |publisher=Rowman & Littlefield |ref=none}}
• {{cite book |title=The World as It Is: A Memoir of the Obama White House |first=Ben |last=Rhodes |publisher=Random House |year=2018 |isbn=978-0-525-50935-6}}
• Rich, Wilbur C. Looking Back on President Barack Obama's Legacy: Hope and Change (2019)
• {{cite book |isbn=978-1-60871-685-2 |title=The Obama Presidency: Appraisals and Prospects |last1=Rockman |first1=Bert A. |last2=Rudalevige |first2=Andrew |last3=Campbell |first3=Colin |date=July 26, 2011|publisher=SAGE Publications |ref=none }}
• {{cite book|last=Rosenberg|first=Jerry M.|title=The Concise Encyclopedia of The Great Recession 2007–2012|url=https://archive.org/details/conciseencyclope0000rose|url-access=registration|year=2012|publisher=Scarecrow Press 2nd edition 708pp|isbn=978-0-8108-8340-6|ref=none}}
• {{cite journal |doi=10.1111/j.1540-6237.2012.00910.x |title="A Majority is the Best Repartee": Barack Obama and Congress, 2009-2012 |journal=Social Science Quarterly |volume=93 |issue=5 |pages=1272–1294 |year=2012 |last1=Rudalevige |first1=Andrew |ref=none}}
• {{cite journal |doi=10.1111/psq.12323 |title=The Contemporary Presidency: The Obama Administrative Presidency: Some Late-Term Patterns |journal=Presidential Studies Quarterly |volume=46 |issue=4 |pages=868–890 |year=2016 |last1=Rudalevige |first1=Andrew |ref=none}}
• {{cite journal |doi=10.1002/j.1538-165X.2012.tb00718.x |title=Accomplished and Embattled: Understanding Obama's Presidency |journal=Political Science Quarterly |volume=127 |pages=1–24 |year=2012 |last1=Skocpol |first1=Theda |last2=Jacobs |first2=Lawrence R.|ref=none }}
• {{cite book |jstor=10.7758/9781610447119 |title=Reaching for a New Deal |year=2011 |chapter=Ambitious Governance, Economic Meltdown, and Polarized Politics in Obama's First Two Years |isbn=978-0-87154-855-9 |publisher=Russell Sage Foundation |ref=none|last1=Skocpol|first1=Theda|last2=Jacobs|first2=Lawrence R.}}
• Tesler, Michael. Post-racial or most-racial? Race and politics in the Obama era (U of Chicago Press, 2020).
• {{cite book |isbn=978-1-59451-993-2 |url=https://archive.org/details/obamainoffice0000unse |title=Obama in Office |last1=Thurber |first1=James A. |year=2011 |publisher=Paradigm Publishers |url-access=registration |ref=none }}
• {{cite book |isbn=978-1-4384-4329-4 |title=The Obama Presidency: A Preliminary Assessment |last1=Watson |first1=Robert P. |last2=Covarrubias |first2=Jack |last3=Lansford |first3=Tom |last4=Brattebo |first4=Douglas M. |date=July 2012|publisher=SUNY Press |ref=none }}
• White, John Kenneth. Barack Obama's America: how new conceptions of race, family, and religion ended the Reagan era (University of Michigan Press, 2009).
• {{cite book |isbn=978-1-59451-477-7 |title=President Barack Obama: A More Perfect Union |last1=Wilson |first1=John K. |year=2009 |publisher=Paradigm |ref=none}}
• {{cite book |isbn=978-0-691-16028-3 |title=The Presidency of Barack Obama: A First Historical Assessment |last1=Zelizer |first1=Julian E. |year=2018 |publisher=Princeton University Press |ref=none}}

{{Main| Foreign policy of the Barack Obama administration#Further reading}}

• Anderson, Jeffrey J. "Rancor and resilience in the Atlantic Political Order: the Obama years." Transatlantic Relations in Times of Uncertainty (Routledge, 2020). 114–129. [https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Jeffrey-Anderson-20/publication/342298322_Rancor_and_resilience_in_the_Atlantic_Political_Order_the_Obama_years/links/60268c79299bf1cc26bf9311/Rancor-and-resilience-in-the-Atlantic-Political-Order-the-Obama-years.pdf online]
• Bentley, Michelle, and Jack Holland, eds. [https://books.google.com/books?id=bG3ADAAAQBAJ&q=%22The+Obama+Doctrine%3A+A+Legacy+of+Continuity+in+US+Foreign+Policy%3F%22 The Obama Doctrine: A Legacy of Continuity in US Foreign Policy?] (Routledge, 2016).
• Bentley, Michelle and Jack Holland, eds. Obama's Foreign Policy: Ending the War on Terror (Routledge Studies in US Foreign Policy) (2013) [https://www.amazon.com/Obamas-Foreign-Policy-Routledge-Studies-ebook/dp/B00FQGQIAY/ excerpt and text search]
• Bose, Meena. "Appraising the foreign policy legacy of the Obama presidency." in Wilbur C. Rich, ed., Looking Back on President Barack Obama's Legacy (Palgrave Macmillan, Cham, 2019) pp. 93–113.
• Ganguly, Šumit. "Obama, Trump and Indian foreign policy under Modi." International Politics 59.1 (2022): 9–23. [https://link.springer.com/content/pdf/10.1057/s41311-021-00294-4.pdf online]
• Green, Michael J. By more than providence: grand strategy and American power in the Asia Pacific since 1783 (2017) [https://www.amazon.com/More-Than-Providence-American-East-Relations/dp/0231180438/ excerpt] pp 518–40.
• {{cite book |isbn=978-0-8157-2182-6 |title=Bending History: Barack Obama's Foreign Policy |last1=Indyk |first1=Martin |last2=Lieberthal |first2=Kenneth |last3=O'Hanlon |first3=Michael E. |year=2012 |publisher=Brookings Institution Press |ref=none}}
• Kenealy, Andrew. "Barack Obama and the Politics of Military Force, 2009–2012." Presidential Studies Quarterly (2022). https://doi.org/10.1111/psq.12798
• Leoni, Zeno. American Grand Strategy from Obama to Trump: Imperialism After Bush and China's Hegemonic Challenge (Springer Nature, 2021) [https://books.google.com/books?id=SvggEAAAQBAJ&dq=Obama&pg=PR7 online].
• Maass, Matthias. The World Views of the Obama Era (Palgrave Macmillan, 2018).
• Mastanduno, Michael. "A grand strategic transition?: Obama, Trump and the Asia Pacific political economy." The United States in the Indo-Pacific (Manchester University Press, 2020). 177–192. [https://www.manchesteropenhive.com/downloadpdf/9781526135025/9781526135025.00019.pdf online]
• O'Connor, Brendon, and Danny Cooper. "Ideology and the Foreign Policy of Barack Obama: A Liberal‐Realist Approach to International Affairs." Presidential Studies Quarterly 51.3 (2021): 635–666. https://doi.org/10.1111/psq.12730
• Tesler, Michael. "President Obama and the Emergence of Islamophobia in Mass Partisan Preferences." Political Research Quarterly 75.2 (2022): 394–408.
• Van Quyet, Luu, and Nguyen Thi Anh Nguyet. "US-Vietnam maritime security cooperation in the South China Sea: From the Obama administration to the current Biden administration." Cogent Arts & Humanities 10.1 (2023): 2231697. [https://scholar.google.com/scholar?output=instlink&q=info:qbC13CPx5FEJ:scholar.google.com/&hl=en&as_sdt=0,27&as_ylo=2020&scillfp=12860789974203946445&oi=lle online]

{{refend}}

{{Commons category|Presidency of Barack Obama}}

• [https://obamawhitehouse.archives.gov/ Obama White House archives]
• {{YouTube|channel=UCDGknzyQfNiThyt4vg4MlTQ|title=The Obama White House}}
• [https://www.nytimes.com/packages/html/magazine/2009-inauguration-gallery/index.html "Obama's People"] (photography: Nadav Kander)
• [https://obamawhitehouse.archives.gov/blog/inaugural-address "President Barack Obama's Inaugural Address"]. The White House.
• [https://obamawhitehouse.archives.gov/blog/09/03/26/Wrapping-Up-Open-for-Questions/ "Wrapping Up Open for Questions"]. The White House.
• [https://web.archive.org/web/20110131124844/http://www.cspan.org/Events/President-Obamas-State-of-the-Union-Address/10737419121-6/ "President Obama's State of the Union Address"] C-SPAN.
• [https://www.npr.org/2017/01/19/510491692/the-america-donald-trump-is-inheriting-by-the-numbers Statistics comparing the beginning and ending of the Obama presidency]

{{Barack Obama}}

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Obama, Barack

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