44th President of the United States (2009-2017); his Supreme Court nominee was blocked in 2016
Background
Barack Hussein Obama II (born August 4, 1961, in Honolulu, Hawaii) is an American politician who served as the 44th President of the United States from 2009 to 2017. After Justice Antonin Scalia died in February 2016, Obama nominated Merrick Garland to the Supreme Court that March; Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell refused to hold confirmation hearings, and the seat remained vacant for the rest of Obama’s term, later filled by Trump appointee Neil Gorsuch. Separately, in December 2016 the Obama administration imposed sanctions on Russia. Incoming National Security Advisor Michael Flynn discussed those sanctions with Russian Ambassador Sergey Kislyak and later pleaded guilty to lying to the FBI about the contacts. Obama left office in January 2017 and was succeeded by Donald Trump.
