Why This Might Be the Most Consequential Week of Obama's Presidency

— -- President Obama began the last full week of June with his legacy in potential peril: A landmark trade bill stymied by his own party. The heart of the Affordable Care Act hanging in the balance at the Supreme Court. That nuclear deal with Iran seeming on the verge of crumble. At a White House celebration on gay rights, a heckler stole the show.

In the end, it became a defining week of the Obama presidency in its more than six-and-a-half years. It was marked by a remarkable string of political and legal victories, all capped by a powerful speech on race that showcased the signature rhetorical skill that that first helped put him on the map.

Here are five ways that this might be the most consequential week of Obama's presidency:

1. Soulful Singing From the Podium After a Stirring Speech on Race

More than a week after nine churchgoers were shot and killed in a Charleston church, President Obama turned a moment of national mourning into one of the most emotional of his presidency. In a eulogy for the Rev. Clementa Pinckney, the senior pastor of the Emanuel AME Church whom the Obamas met personally back in 2007, the president delivered a message of racial unity and transcendence to an audience of 5,500 people. At one point, the president broke into song, leading the entire crowd in an impromptu hymn of “Amazing Grace.” Has any sitting president sung in such a way from a pulpit before?

2. The Affordable Care Act Survives the Supremes

The president’s landmark health care law faced its second major test before the Supreme Court and survived. On Thursday, the Court decided to overlook what some called a drafting error in the law, upholding health insurance subsidies for over 6 million Americans in states using federal exchanges. The court ruled that it was Congress and the administration’s initial intent that matters most -- granting middle- and low-income individuals living in states that did not create their own insurance marketplaces to continue to receive federal taxpayer aid.

3. Court Backs Social Shift on Gay Marriage That Obama Helped Evolve

In a monumental ruling, the Supreme Court ruled Friday that civil marriage rights must be extended to same-sex couples in all 50 states. The court’s decision struck down state bans on gay marriage. And though Obama cannot take any credit for the ruling, it was a major victory for the Democratic Party and his progressive agenda. The ruling comes after a landslide shift in public opinion on gay marriage over the last decade, with the majority of Americans now supporting gay marriage. When Obama assumed office in 2009, he was not an open supporter of gay marriage, but in his words, “evolved” on the issue, and ultimately came out in public support of gay marriage during an interview with ABC News’ Robin Roberts in 2012.

4. Republicans Give Obama “Fast-Track” Power on Trade

A bill to grant President Obama “fast-track” authority to negotiate sweeping multi-national trade deals cleared Congress this week, after several embarrassing setbacks dealt by Democrats, paving the way for the president to secure the Trans Pacific Partnership -- one of his biggest second-term priorities and the largest U.S. free-trade agreement in more than 20 years. Though the deal itself has not yet passed, a green-light for Trade Promotion Authority was a key hurdle for the president just weeks after his own party’s rank-and-file actively blocked him on the issue.

5. Hostage Policy Shift to Help Families

After an exhaustive months-long policy review, President Obama on Wednesday announced that the United States is “changing how we do business” in efforts to recover American hostages from terrorists and other criminals abroad.

Under the new policy, the government will no longer enforce a rule which forbid families of hostages from paying ransom to hostage-holders in attempts to secure the release of their loved ones. While the government will maintain a strict policy against paying ransom to terrorists, the government will now have a dedicated “fusion cell” to coordinate between government agencies and communicate directly with hostage-takers in facilitating their release.