Timeline of the presidency of Barack Obama (2017)

Updated on Sep 19, 2024

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The following is a timeline of the Presidency of Barack Obama, from January 1, 2017 to his final day in office on January 20. For his time as President-elect, see the Presidential transition of Barack Obama; for a detailed account of his first months in office, see First 100 days of Barack Obama's presidency; and for a complete itinerary of his travels, see List of presidential trips made by Barack Obama.

January

January 2 – President Obama returns to the White House after his annual Hawaiian vacation.

January 3 – The 115th United States Congress begins.

January 4 – President Obama visits Democratic lawmakers on Capitol Hill with a message to save the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, as Republicans prepare to repeal and replace the regulatory overhaul of the U.S. healthcare system. Obama gave his farewell address to the armed forces at Joint Base Myer–Henderson Hall in Arlington, Virginia.

January 6 – In a joint session of the United States Congress, the results for the electoral college were counted. The President of the Senate Joe Biden subsequently read the results. Obama hosts a farewell party at the White House with a guest list reportedly including Sarah Jessica Parker, Tyler Perry, Chrissy Teigen, Samuel Jackson, Charles Barkley, John Legend, Meryl Streep, George and Amal Clooney, Robert De Niro, Beyoncé and Jay Z, Nick Jonas, Jordin Sparks, David Letterman, Paul McCartney, Kelly Rowland, Olivia Wilde, Jason Sudeikis, Magic Johnson, Tom Hanks, Reverend Al Sharpton, Jerry Seinfeld, Stevie Wonder, Steven Spielberg, and Marc Anthony.

January 10 – President Obama delivers his farewell speech at McCormick Place in his hometown of Chicago.

January 12 – President Obama signs an executive order which ends the exemption for Cubans who arrive in the United States without visas. Obama presents Vice President Joe Biden with the Presidential Medal of Freedom.

January 16 – President Obama welcomes the 2016 World Series champion Chicago Cubs to the White House.

January 17 – President Obama made a surprise appearance at the final press briefing given by White House Press Secretary Josh Earnest, praising Earnest for his two and a half years of service to his administration. President Obama also issues a pardon to General James Cartwright, involving a case in which Cartwright gave information to reporters regarding the Stuxnet virus used against the Iranian nuclear program. Obama commutes the sentence of Chelsea Manning, who was convicted of giving classified information to Wikileaks.

January 18 – President Obama held the final press conference of his presidency, at the White House's James S. Brady Press Briefing Room.

January 19 – President Obama grants 330 commutations to nonviolent drug offenders. That was the most acts of clemency that Obama granted in a single day and the most granted on one day in U.S. history by any president.

January 20 – President Obama finishes his time in office as the 44th President of the United States, and departs the White House with the First Lady Michelle Obama. His successor, Donald Trump, was inaugurated as the 45th President of the United States. Barack Obama began his post-presidency with a vacation in Palm Springs, California.

References

Timeline of the presidency of Barack Obama (2017) Wikipedia

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