Presidential transition of Barack Obama time of their election, President-elect Obama and Vice President-elect Joseph Biden were incumbent U.S. Senators from Illinois and Delaware respectively. In accordance with Article I, Section 6 of the United States Constitution, both were required to resign their respective Senate seats on or before January 20, 2009, in order to become President and Vice President. Obama resigned from the Senate effective November 16, 2008. Initially, it was thought that his replacement would be named by Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich. Since the term for the seat expired in January 2011, it would come up for its normal election in 2010 with
Family of Barack Obama Family of Barack Obama The family of Barack Obama, the 44th President of the United States, and his wife Michelle Obama is made up of people of Kenyan (Luo), African-American, and Old Stock American (including originally English, Scots-Irish, Welsh, German, and Swiss) ancestry. Their immediate family was the First Family of the United States from 2009 to 2017. The Obamas are the first First Family of African-American descent. Michelle LaVaughn Robinson Obama (born January 17, 1964) is an American lawyer, university administrator, and writer who served as the First Lady of the United States from 2009 to 2017. She is