Obama and the Limits of Executive Power

2015 was supposed to be the year President Barack Obama would use unilateral executive action to accomplish major goals of his administration that had been blocked by Congress: relaxing deportations, closing the prison at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, and restricting access to guns.

But all three goals stalled. Obama’s executive action on immigration, announced in November 2014, was stymied in the federal courts, and the Supreme Court has yet to decide whether to hear the administration’s appeal. An executive plan to close Guantanamo, rumored to be on the verge of announcement, was held back after the Paris attacks. And although some executive action on guns is still expected in the new year, it’s sure to be challenged in court and, as a result, may not take effect during Obama’s presidency.