Obama declared his first national emergency on Oct. 23, 2009. The presidential proclamation is entitled, "Declaration of a National Emergency With Respect to the 2009 H1N1 Influenza Pandemic." It authorized the Secretary of Health and Human Services to make exceptions to some federal health care requirements in order to better address the American swine flu pandemic, The Guardian reported.

Obama issued an executive order known as "Blocking Property of Certain Persons Contributing to the Conflict in Somalia" in April 2010. Bloomberg reported that the order froze the American assets of specific people that his administration deemed as contributing to violence in Somalia and related piracy near its coastline.

The April 2010 national emergency known as "Blocking Property of Transnational Criminal Organizations" focused on levying sanctions against crime cartels. The Washington Post reported that the executive order targeted four transnational criminal organizations — Los Zetas, the Yakuza, the Brothers' Circle and the Camorra. As the paper described, it penalized people affiliated with these groups with frozen assets and property and travel bans, among other consequences.

Obama's third national emergency is entitled, "Blocking Property and Prohibiting Certain Transactions Related to Libya," and it was issued in February 2011. The order penalized former Libyan leader Muammar Gadhafi, his associates, and members of his family following a series of government-led violent incidents against Libyan civilians, Foreign Policy reported. The outlet added that Obama elected to freeze their American assets, among other penalties.

In May 2012, Obama issued a national emergency related to the violence occurring following the Yemeni revolution of January 2011-February 2012. The executive order is known as "Blocking Property of Persons Threatening the Peace, Security, or Stability of Yemen." As the Washington Post described, the national emergency authorized the Obama administration to freeze the assets of anyone who impeded the country's political transition.

The lengthy title of Obama's June 2012 national emergency declaration aptly summarizes its purpose. The executive order is called, "Blocking Property of the Government of the Russian Federation Relating to the Disposition of Highly Enriched Uranium Extracted From Nuclear Weapons." It penalized Russia for the way in which the country was discarding highly enriched uranium that came from nuclear weapons, USA Today reported.

CNBC reported that Obama issued an executive order in March 2014 after Russia's military annexed Crimea, a majority Russian-speaking peninsula that is part of Ukraine. The order is entitled "Blocking Property of Certain Persons Contributing to the Situation in Ukraine." As CNBC noted, it placed sanctions on Russian officials and Crimean separatists to penalize them for supporting and organizing the military incursion.

President Obama's April 2014 emergency declaration recognized the civil war in South Sudan as a threat to American national security and broader global security. The order is known "Blocking Property of Certain Persons With Respect to South Sudan." As The Sudan Tribune described, it imposed travel bans and froze the assets of people found to be contributing to the South Sudanese conflict.

As NPR reported, in May 2014 Obama issued a national emergency to penalize five people who engaged in violence against civilians amidst the country's ongoing civil war. The order is entitled "Blocking Property of Certain Persons Contributing to the Conflict in the Central African Republic" and it imposed various economic sanctions.

In response to an increased number of cyber attacks against the United States, Obama declared a national emergency to address the issue in April 2015, The Hill reported. The order is known as "Blocking the Property of Certain Persons Engaging in Significant Malicious Cyber-Enabled Activities." The Hill noted that it authorized the Treasury Department to sanction (via asset freezing) individuals and organizations if they engaged in any type of cyber espionage or cyber attack against the United States.

In May 2015, The Guardian reported that Obama declared a national emergency to sanction seven Venezuelans following the country's crackdown on anti-government dissent. The sanctions were levied against high-ranking officials in Venezuela's government, the paper reported. The emergency declaration is entitled, "Blocking Property and Suspending Entry of Certain Persons Contributing to the Situation in Venezuela"

Following widespread unrest in Burundi sparked by a leadership crisis, Obama declared a national emergency related to the country in November 2015. The executive order, entitled, "Blocking Property of Certain Persons Contributing to the Situation in Burundi," sanctioned four Burundian individuals for engaging in acts of violence, the New York Times reported.

It's clear that Obama didn't hesitate to issue emergency declarations when he felt it was necessary. Like Trump, many of Obama's national emergencies focused on foreign affairs, though none seemed to face the extensive legal pushback that is already mounting over Trump's most recent declaration.