On Obama's last day, a low-key end to fast-paced presidency

WASHINGTON (AP) — With a few final moves and a round of goodbyes, President Barack Obama quietly closed out his presidency on Thursday and prepared for life as a private citizen, as the country readied itself for President-elect Donald Trump.

Eight years after he started his presidency with a burst of activity and executive orders, Obama wound it down in low-key fashion. He didn’t appear publicly during the day, and he didn’t leave the White House, though he was to accompany Trump at midday Friday to the Capitol for his successor’s swearing-in.

As the last remaining White House staffers packed up their belongings and cleared out, the president and first lady Michelle Obama placed a farewell call to German Chancellor Angela Merkel — his last presidential call to a foreign leader. Merkel, Obama’s closest international partner, is the only one of his key European allies still in power as he leaves office, though she faces a difficult re-election in September.

Obama did save one major announcement for his final day: Commutations for 330 drug offenders who had appealed to him for clemency. The final round of grants brought to 1,715 the total number of inmates whose sentences Obama has commuted, more than any other president.

As his family packed up the living quarters where he and Mrs. Obama raised their two daughters, Obama received the president’s daily briefing for the final time and had lunch with Vice President Joe Biden. His administration also disclosed it had transferred four final detainees out of Guantanamo Bay, but conceded Obama had failed to fulfill his promise to close the prison.

Obama also staffed up for his life and work as former president, hiring a trio of former faces. Obama tapped his White House principle deputy press secretary to be his senior adviser and a former White House aide to be his spokesman, while first lady Michelle Obama selected her communications director to stay on in that role when she becomes the former first lady.

After Trump is inaugurated on Friday, ex-President Obama will fly by helicopter to Andrews Air Force Base, where he’ll speak to longtime aides to thank them for their work. Then he and his family will board the presidential aircraft for their final flight, to California, where they plan a quiet vacation in Palm Springs.

The Obamas will return later to Washington, where they have rented a home and plan to live until youngest daughter Sasha finishes high school.