In the first 100 days of Barack Obama’s presidency, he has ushered in a sweeping agenda (and had some fun along the way). Here are some of his biggest moments.
Hours after President Barack Obama takes the oath of office, Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel orders a suspension of all last-minute policies pushed through by the Bush administration.
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The President and Mrs. Obama bask in the joy of their first dance as the First Couple at the Neighborhood Ball—just one of ten balls they attended on Inauguration Night.
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Following a historic day and evening, Mrs. Obama and President Obama begin the President’s first day in office by attending the national prayer service at the Washington National Cathedral.
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President Obama enacts a pay freeze for senior White House staff making more than $100,000, and sets strict guidelines in his administration, including a rule that employees cannot work on issues that they’ve lobbied for in the past.
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Just to be safe, the President retakes the Oath of Office at the White House with Justice John Roberts. Roberts originally flubbed the words at the inauguration ceremony.
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President Obama signs two executive orders—one to close the Guantanamo Bay detention center within a year, and another prohibiting the use of harsh interrogation techniques, including waterboarding.
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President Obama overturns the “global gag rule,” allowing federal funding for groups that provide abortion services or counseling abroad.
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Similar to Franklin D. Roosevelt’s radio fireside chats, President Obama produces his first weekly Saturday morning video address available online at YouTube.com and whitehouse.gov
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President Obama signs two Presidential Memorandums on fuel efficiency, directing federal regulators to set strict limits on greenhouse gases from cars and trucks.
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President Obama gives his first formal interview as President to Al Arabiya, an Arabic-language television news channel.
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President Obama goes to Capitol Hill to meet with Senate Republicans to pitch his economic stimulus package. Most Republicans ending up opposing the President’s plan.
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The President signs his first bill, the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act, which makes it easier for women and other workers to sue employers for pay discrimination.
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President Barack Obama watches as U.S. Attorney General Eric H. Holder, Jr., is sworn in, with his wife, Dr. Sharon Malone, holding the Bible. Holder is the first Black U.S. attorney general.
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President Obama nominates Senator Judd Gregg as secretary of commerce (Gregg later withdraws the nomination). On the same day, Tom Daschle and Nancy Killefer withdraw their nominations, both citing tax problems.
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President Barack Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama made a surprise visit to the Capital City Public Charter School in Washington, D.C., where they sat with second-graders to read "The Moon Over Star” by Dianna Hutts Aston.
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Obama announces that companies receiving large amounts of federal bailout money must cap the pay of their top executives at $500,000.
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President Barack Obama meets with Vice-President Joseph Biden, Middle East Envoy former Senator George Mitchell, and U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton in the Oval Office.
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The President announces the Office of Faith-Based and Neighborhood Partnerships, which will connect the government with both religious and secular groups to serve people in need. The office is directed by 26-year-old Pentecostal minister Joshua DuBois.
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President Barack Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama greet the audience as they attend Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater’s performance entitled “Fiftieth Anniversary Highlights” at the Kennedy Center in Washington.
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The President waves as he and First Lady Michelle Obama walk on the South Lawn of the White House after returning from Camp David.
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President Obama spoke during a town hall meeting in Elkhart, Indiana. He urged Congress pass his massive economic stimulus plan and warned that delay in Washington would bring only “deepening disaster.”
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President Obama holds his first press conference with members of the media at the White House
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President Barack Obama steps off the stage to take a question from a homeless woman named Henrietta Hughes during a town hall on the economy in Fort Myers, Florida.
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The First Family prepares to depart for Chicago for the long weekend.
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Speaking from a town hall meeting in Mesa, Arizona, President Obama unveiled his Homeowner Affordability and Stability Plan, to help distressed homeowners refinance their homes with lenders to avoid foreclosure.
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President Barack Obama and Canadian Governor General Michaelle Jean walk across the tarmac following his arrival in Ottawa, Canada.
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President Barack Obama welcomes the nation’s governors to a black-tie dinner at the White House, followed by a performance by Earth, Wind & Fire.
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President Obama chats with Japanese Prime Minister Taro Aso in the Oval Office of the White House.
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President Obama gives a speech before a joint session of Congress, outlining his economic recovery plan.
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President Obama presents Stevie Wonder with the Gershwin Prize for lifetime achievement.
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President Barack Obama and Defense Secretary Robert Gates on their way to Camp Lejeune military base in North Carolina, where Obama outlines his plan for troop withdrawals from Iraq.
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Chicago Bulls fan President Barack Obama reacts to a Bulls three-pointer against the Washington Wizards.
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The President and First Lady surprised First Daughters Malia and Sasha Obama with a brand-new swing set.
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President Barack Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama host another dinner party at the White House, this time for various Congressional Leaders.
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The President holds a bipartisan forum at the White House on health care reform, to discuss ways to lower costs and expand coverage.
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Vice-President Joe Biden, White House Social Secretary Desiree Rogers, President Barack Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama join Senator Ted Kennedy at a musical tribute for Kennedy’s 77th birthday at the Kennedy Center. The event was hosted by comedian Bill Cosby (not pictured.)
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President Barack Obama signs an Executive Order to reverse the ban on using federal money for embryonic stem cell research.
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President Barack Obama, First Lady Michelle Obama, and one of their daughters, 10-year-old Malia, return from Camp David after spending the weekend there. It was the family’s second trip to their Maryland retreat.
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President Obama as he signs his executive order creating the White House Council on Women and Girls. Chaired by Valerie Jarrett, the body works with Cabinet level agencies to ensure that women and girls are treated fairly in all areas of public policy.
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President Obama smiles bright at the unveiling of a portrait of one of his inspirations, President Abraham Lincoln during the dedication of Lincoln Hall at the National Defense University on Fort McNair.
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President Obama announces the appointment of a special U.S. envoy to Darfur, Major General J. Scott Gration.
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Many Americans tuned in to see President Obama appear on Jay Leno’s show. The President assured the late night host he is able to multi-task, and keep things moving while he visits California.
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Days before his second prime-time press conference, President Obama sat for a one-on-one interview with “60 Minutes” reporter Steve Kroft.
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The President holds his second prime time press conference at the White House.
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With the top security leaders looking on, the President vows to wipe out terrorists from Pakistani safe havens, with the country’s new Afghan war strategy.
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President Obama gives ultimatums to auto companies Chrysler and General Motors, to restructure if they are to receive further bailout funds.
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President Obama shakes hands with Russian President Dmitry Medvedev and shares his plans to visit Moscow in the summer. The President later expressed his interest in renewing a relationship with Russia saying, “I think that over the past several years the relationship between our two countries has been allowed to drift. And what I believe we have done today is a very constructive dialogue that will allow us to work on issues of mutual interest.”
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President Barack Obama and First Lady Michelle meet Britain’s Queen Elizabeth II at Buckingham Palace. The President gave Her Majesty a fully-charged iPod loaded with video and photos of her 2007 trip to the United States, as well as songs and accessories. She also received a rare songbook signed by the composer Richard Rodgers.
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President Obama poses with world leaders at the G-20 summit on April 2 in London. The group met to find solutions for tackling the global financial crisis.
While the President is in London, Congress approves President Obama’s $3.6 trillion federal budget, with increased spending on health care, energy and education. No Republicans supported the budget.
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President Obama and French President Nicolas Sarkozy make their way to a NATO summit press conference in Strasbourg. President Obama spoke about reaching out to build stronger partnerships with countries around the world and stressed that with strong partnerships comes mutual responsibility.
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President Obama and the First Lady wave to the crowd at Hradcany Square in Prague, Czech Republic. The First Couple received a rapturous welcome from a crowd of 30,000 as they arrived for a public speech on a nuclear-free world.
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During a visit to Isanbul, Turkey, the President tours the Sultanahmet Mosque. Obama, seen here with Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, met with religious leaders while visiting the Muslim nation.
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The President makes an unannounced visit to Baghdad, Iraq, where he meets with U.S. troops.
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President Obama lifts limits on Cuban Americans regarding travel to Cuba and sending remittances to relatives.
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President Obama, joined by the Easter Bunny, welcomes thousands of children from around the country to the annual White House Easter Egg Roll.
The Obama family introduce the country to their long-awaited puppy, Bo, a Portuguese water dog and a gift from Senator Ted Kennedy.
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In a packed auditorium at Georgetown University, President Obama explained his economic proposals—the stimulus package, the bank bailouts, his housing plan and the $3.5 trillion budget.
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President Barack Obama discusses his administration’s plan to create a nationwide system of high-speed rail as Vice-President Joe Biden looks on in the Eisenhower Executive Office Building. The President said the plan will lay the foundation for economic prosperity by connecting cities, decreasing congestion on roads and in the air and reducing the U.S.’s dependence on foreign oil.
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Mexican President Felipe Calderon drinks a toast with US president Barack Obama during a banquet at the Anthropology National Museum in Mexico City.
Before the toast, President Obama thanked President Calderón saying, “I am so pleased that I have such an outstanding partner as President Calderón, somebody who has shown his courage and his bravery, and somebody who’s shown that he combines a sense of principle with a sense of practicality; somebody who I know wants to be a partner with me as we strengthen our partnership and we make certain that the children of Mexico and the children of the United States are both seeing a future that’s more prosperous and more hopeful than the ones that have come before.”
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Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez gives “The Open Veins of Latin America” to President Obama during the Summit of the Americas in Port of Spain, Trinidad.
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President Barack Obama poses with CARICOM leaders during the Fifth Summit of the Americas in Port of Spain, Trinidad. CARICOM is an organization of 15 Caribbean nations whose main purpose is to promote equal economic integration and cooperation among its members.
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“We showed that while we have our differences, we can and must work together in areas where we have mutual interests, and where we disagree we can disagree respectfully,” said President Obama during a press conference after attending the Fifth Summit of the Americas. “We showed that there are no senior or junior partners in the Americas; we’re simply partners, committed to advancing a common agenda and overcoming common challenges.”
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Secretary of State Hillary Clinton looks on as President Obama announced, in his first Cabinet meeting, that he expects them to cut $100 million in spending.
According to the President, this will be one way the federal government “can free up those dollars in order to put them to use for critical areas like health care, education, energy, our foreign policy apparatus…”
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President Obama meets with top brass at the CIA headquarters a few days after authorizing the release of CIA memos detailing harsh interrogation techniques used against terrorism suspects.
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After signing the Ted Kennedy Serve America Act, which will triple the size of the AmeriCorps community service program, Obama does his part by planting a tree at the Kenilworth Aquatic Gardens in Washington, D.C.
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On Earth Day, President Obama visited the Trinity Structural Towers manufacturing plant in Newton, Iowa, which produces towers for wind energy production.
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President Obama hugs Kaddish Morris Rosen, a Holocaust survivor, at the National Commemoration of the Days of Remembrance in the Capitol Rotunda.
President Obama congratulates members of the University of Florida Gators for winning the 2009 national championship in football.
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From the White House Diplomatic Room with college student Stephanie Stevenson (left) and her mother, Yvonne Thomas, Obama spoke about improving access to higher education.
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President Barack Obama unwinds with an afternoon round of golf with Mike Thomas, general manger of the Andrews Air Force Base golf courses, in Maryland.
The job as President of the United States is surely a stressful one, but Mr. Obama likes to unwind by spending time with his family or taking in a little golf.
President Barack Obama poses for photos with the NCAA champion University of Connecticut women’s basketball team at the White House. “Thanks to players like each of these women and those who came before them, our young women today look at themselves differently, especially tall young women, like my daughters,” said the President.
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After Obama’s speech at the FBI headquarters, FBI Director Robert Mueller gave the President two teddy bears (gifts for Sasha and Malia).
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