Story highlights
It's expected Trump will seek to peel back some of Obama's moves
Obama is attempting to solidify his legacy
(CNN) —
President Barack Obama, as his tenure draws to a close, is deploying his legal authority in a last-minute bid to cement the areas of his legacy threatened by Donald Trump’s incoming administration.
Obama has tasked his staff with locating as many areas as possible where his top agenda items could be calcified and protected from Trump’s wrecking ball, according to officials.
He’s placing an indefinite ban on oil drilling in huge swaths of the Arctic and Atlantic oceans, wary of a successor who promised a boost in US energy production.
He’s advised lawmakers of plans to transfer almost one-third of the remaining population at Guantanamo Bay to other countries, despite Trump’s vow to fill up the prison with “bad dudes.”
Photos: 100 moments from Obama's presidency
PHOTO:
Chuck Kennedy/Getty Images
Barack Obama is sworn in as the 44th President of the United States on January 20, 2009. Click through the gallery to see 100 moments from his administration.
Photos: 100 moments from Obama's presidency
PHOTO:
Pete Souza/The White House
The Obamas share a moment on a freight elevator as they head to one of the inaugural balls on January 20, 2009. "It was quite chilly, so the President removed his tuxedo jacket and put it over the shoulders of his wife," White House photographer Pete Souza said. "Then they had a semi-private moment as staff members and Secret Service agents tried not to look."
Photos: 100 moments from Obama's presidency
PHOTO:
Pete Souza/The White House
Obama wears 3-D glasses during a Super Bowl viewing at the White House on February 1, 2009.
Photos: 100 moments from Obama's presidency
PHOTO:
Pete Souza/The White House
Obama speaks with aides in the White House Oval Office on February 4, 2009. From left are Senior Advisor Pete Rouse, White House Director of Legislative Affairs Phil Schiliro, Senior Advisor David Axelrod, National Economic Council Director Lawrence Summers and White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel.
Photos: 100 moments from Obama's presidency
PHOTO:
Darin McGregor/AP
Vice President Joe Biden watches Obama sign the economic stimulus bill on February 17, 2009. The goal was to stimulate the country's staggering economy by increasing federal spending and cutting taxes.
Photos: 100 moments from Obama's presidency
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Pablo Martinez Monsivais/AP
Obama acknowledges applause before addressing a joint session of Congress for the first time on February 24, 2009. The President focused on the three priorities of the budget he presented to Congress later in the week: energy, health care and education.
Photos: 100 moments from Obama's presidency
PHOTO:
Pete Souza/The White House
A boy touches Obama's hair in the Oval Office on May 8, 2009. "A temporary White House staffer, Carlton Philadelphia, brought his family to the Oval Office for a farewell photo with President Obama," White House photographer Pete Souza said. "Carlton's son softly told the President he had just gotten a haircut like President Obama, and asked if he could feel the President's head to see if it felt the same as his."
Photos: 100 moments from Obama's presidency
PHOTO:
Joshua Roberts/Bloomberg/Getty Images
Obama kisses Sonia Sotomayor after announcing her as a Supreme Court nominee on Tuesday, May 26. Sotomayor went on to become the court's first Hispanic justice.
Photos: 100 moments from Obama's presidency
PHOTO:
Chuck Kennedy/The White House
The President returns to the Oval Office after going on a hamburger run for West Wing staffers and aides on May 29, 2009.
Photos: 100 moments from Obama's presidency
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Pete Souza/The White House/Getty Images
Obama closes his eyes before taping his weekly radio address at the White House on June 2, 2009.
Photos: 100 moments from Obama's presidency
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Stephen Crowley/The New York Times/Redux
Obama tours the Great Pyramid and Sphinx in Giza, Egypt, on June 4, 2009. In a speech at Cairo University, Obama pledged to "seek a new beginning between the United States and Muslims around the world," imploring America and the Islamic world to drop their suspicions of one another and forge new alliances.
Photos: 100 moments from Obama's presidency
PHOTO:
Pete Souza/The White House
Obama places a flower at the Buchenwald Memorial as he visits the former concentration camp in Germany on June 5, 2009.
Photos: 100 moments from Obama's presidency
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Pete Souza/The White House/Getty Images
Sasha Obama hides behind an Oval Office sofa as she sneaks up on her father on August 5, 2009. Sasha was 7 when her father took office. Malia was 10. See more pictures of Malia and Sasha Obama since their father was elected President
Photos: 100 moments from Obama's presidency
PHOTO:
Pete Souza/The White House
Obama stands on stage before delivering remarks to service members in Jacksonville, Florida, on October 26, 2009. "Of all the privileges I have as President, I have no greater honor than serving as your commander in chief," Obama said in his speech.
Photos: 100 moments from Obama's presidency
PHOTO:
SAUL LOEB/AFP/Getty Images
Obama salutes during the dignified transfer of Army Sgt. Dale R. Griffin on October 29, 2009. The President traveled to an Air Force base in Dover, Delaware, to meet a plane carrying the bodies of 18 Americans killed in Afghanistan.
Photos: 100 moments from Obama's presidency
PHOTO:
Pete Souza/The White House
The President fist-bumps custodian Lawrence Lipscomb in the Eisenhower Executive Office Building on December 3, 2009.
Photos: 100 moments from Obama's presidency
PHOTO:
OLIVIER MORIN/AFP/Getty Images
Obama poses with a diploma and gold medal after accepting the Nobel Peace Prize in Oslo, Norway, on December 10,