The political world is squarely focused on President-elect
Donald Trump’s every decision, but President Obama is poised to make some
attention-worthy moves in the final weeks of his presidency.
Largely free of political considerations, final-year
presidents typically have done some surprising things in the twilight of their
administrations.
Bill Clinton and George H.W. Bush raised eyebrows with controversial
eleventh-hour pardons and Jimmy Carter rushed to complete hostage negotiations
with Iran.
The top items on Obama’s wish list are all but off the
table, such as a last-minute effort to force a vote on Supreme Court nominee
Merrick Garland and completing the Trans-Pacific Partnership trade pact.
But here are five other things Obama will try to accomplish
before he leaves office on Jan. 20:
Russian hacking response
Russian hacking of U.S. political organizations has rocketed
to the top of Obama’s list of concerns in the aftermath of the election.
The issue resurfaced last week when it was revealed the CIA
determined the Russians intervened in the election to help Donald Trump win the
White House, and not just sow doubts about the democratic process.
Under heavy pressure from congressional Democrats, Obama
directed the intelligence community to complete a full report on Russian
hacking activity tied to elections.
The report, which could contain bombshell findings, is
expected to be sent to Congress before Obama leaves office, but it remains
unclear how much of it will be made public.
Obama is also vowing to retaliate against Russia for the
hacks, a move critics say is long overdue.
Both moves could anger Trump, who has waved off allegations
of Russian interference in the election as an effort to undermine his
legitimacy.
Tensions between the White House and Trump’s team over the
issue are already high, and if they escalate further, it could threaten efforts
to ensure a smooth transition of power.
Commutations and pardons
Obama is expected to issue commutations to large groups of
non-violent drug offenders several more times before he leaves the White House.
The president has already cut short the sentences of more
than 1,000 federal inmates, more than the last 11 presidents combined. But he’s
facing growing pressure from criminal-justice reform advocates to pick up the
pace.
They fear that Trump, who campaigned as a law-and-order
candidate, will scale back or eliminate Obama’s 2014 clemency initiative
designed to shorten drug sentences they see as draconian.
While Obama has been the most generous president in modern
history when it comes to commutations, he has issued just 70 pardons during his
seven-plus years in office.
There has been speculation Obama could consider high-profile
pardons of former NSA contractor Edward Snowden and U.S. Army soldier Chelsea
Manning, both of whom face espionage charges.
Obama has said a pardon for Snowden, however, is unlikely.
“Midnight” regulations
Federal agencies are rushing to complete a slew of
last-minute rules and regulations in the final months of Obama’s presidency.
The actions represent the president’s final opportunity to
cement policies on legacy issues, ranging from the environment to immigration
and healthcare, even though Trump has pledged to do away with many of Obama's
rules.
Just this week, the administration handed down a
long-awaited regulation that bans states from defunding Planned Parenthood for
political reasons.
The Department of Homeland Security is also working to
complete a rule that would make it easier for foreign entrepreneurs to remain
in the U.S.
Obama could also move to protect more federal land and
water, part of his push to address the causes of climate change.
Guantánamo Bay
Obama on his first day in office declared his intent to
shutter the military prison at Guantánamo Bay, which has served as a black eye
for the U.S. on the world stage.
But years of thorny diplomatic issues and congressional
opposition prevented Obama from accomplishing his goal.
The president’s top homeland security aide, Lisa Monaco, all
but ruled out an end run around Congress to close the facility, meaning that it
will remain open when Obama leaves office.
“At the end of the day, the domestic transfer restriction
remains in place,” she told reporters last week at a Christian Science Monitor
breakfast. “So until Congress lifts that, we’re not able to bring detainees
here even to serve a life sentence, even to undergo prosecution to render a
life sentence.”
Instead, Obama has tried to reduce the prison population by
shipping inmates overseas. When he took office, 241 people were locked up at
Gitmo but just 59 remain today.
Monaco said the administration will not back off those
efforts during Obama’s final month in office.
“We’re going to continue to pursue those transfers, just as
many as we can before Jan. 20th,” she said.
Israeli-Palestinian conflict
The dispute between the Israelis and Palestinians will land
on Obama’s list of unfinished business, just as it did for generations of
presidents before him.
Obama took office in 2009 with high hopes for reshaping the
Middle East, including the creation of a Palestinian state alongside Israel.
But more than seven years later, the prospects for peace
appear worse than they’ve been in at least a decade.
Two separate U.S.-led negotiations during Obama’s tenure
failed to bear fruit. The president and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin
Netanyahu’s relationship soured over the years over issues such as Israeli
settlement construction in the West Bank and the Iran nuclear deal. Palestinian
leadership wilted due to their own internecine power struggles.
To break the stalemate, Obama weighed a long-shot bid to
force the Israelis and Palestinians back to the negotiating table.
The moves included backing a United Nations resolution
outlining a peace plan or a major address laying out his framework for a deal.
The president has reportedly ruled out such drastic steps.
But he still could address the conflict in a more limited way in a speech or
policy paper.
Compiled By Jordan Fabian
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