ABSTRACT
The tenure of President Barack Obama is instructive in this regard. Above all, Obama's most visible policy legacy is that of health care reform, an initiative now synonymous with his name. Moreover, the ensuing political struggle over the ACA's implementation, particularly during the presidency of Donald Trump, underscores the shifting dynamics of policymaking from one administration to the next and the uncertainty of policy victories in an era of partisan polarization. The president's role in domestic policymaking has been anything but static through the course of American history, with the institution becoming increasingly involved in public policy over time. Writing in 1898, Henry Jones Ford observed that the framers’ vision of a restrained republican executive had become “a master force in the shaping of public policy.” While campaign promises may establish the initial “parameters” of policymaking, the president's domestic agenda encounters many obstacles on its path toward enactment.
