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
Foreign policy of the Barack Obama administration appointed as the State Department's "first ever Special Representative to Muslim Communities" and was sworn in on September 15, 2009. She describes her responsibilities as including actively listening and responding to "the concerns of Muslims in Europe, Africa, and Asia." In 2012 Obama promised more flexibility on missile defense after his reelection, this flexibility was demonstrated the next year when Kerry offered to reduce American defenses against Chinese missiles. Foreign policy of the Barack Obama administration The foreign policy of the Barack Obama administration was the foreign policy of the United States from 2009 to 2017 while Barack Obama was