This is an evidence document for the US Presidency topic of the new US politics spec. This has put me on track for a comfortable A* in the 2023 exams (recent essays have scored 27+/30)
Powers (legislative, appointment, and foreign affairs)
● Obama signed the START treaty with Russia
● Obama tried to sign an executive order to close Guantanamo bay, but it was overturned in the
Senate
● Obama’s approval rating fell from 67% to 40%
● Obama used executive agreements to sign the JCPOA and the Paris Agreement
● Trump used his 2018 state of the union to propose legislation such as tough immigration and
nuclear defence
● Trump nominated Gorsuch, Kavanaugh, and Coney Barrett to the Supreme Court
● Trump withdrew troops from Syria and Afghanistan
● Trump used an executive order for his muslim travel ban
● Trump had an average approval rating of 41%
● Covid led to Trump's approval rating falling to 35%
● Biden has recently been campaigning for greater gun control
● Biden appointed Merrick Garland as Attorney general
● Biden used executive orders to reverse Trump’s wall construction and his ban on
transgender people serving in the military
● As soon as he entered office Biden signed the American Rescue Plan, which lowered health
insurance
Cabinet
● Bush held 49 meetings
● Obama held 28 meetings
● Obama made 3 changes to his cabinet
● Obama used his cabinet to discuss his legislative agenda with congress
● Obama used his meeting to hurry Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel over releasing
Guantanamo Bay prisoners
● Trump held 25 meetings
● Trump made 20 changes to his cabinet
● Trump opened his cabinet up to the press as a show of dominance
● Trump used his cabinet to discuss the federal Covid-19 response
● Bidens Attorney General is Merrick Garland
● Bidens Secretary of Transportation is Pete Buttigieg
Was Obama Successful?
● Healthcare reform
○ Affordable Care Act 2010 reduced the number of uninsured adults from 18% to 11%
● Economic stimulation
○ American Recovery Act 2009 provided $787 billion t save the financial system
○ Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform Act 2010 increased the regulation of financial
institutions
● Immigration reform
○ DREAM Act (allowed children of immigrants to temporary citizenship) faced opposition
from both parties
○ DAPA (indefinite delays in deportation) executive order was overruled in United States
v Texas (2016)
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