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STORY HIGHLIGHTS

Washington (CNN) -- A week ago, President Barack Obama landed in China with a considerable political limp after this month's midterm elections. But as the President left Australia following a G20 Summit in Brisbane, the narrative, at least overseas, spotlighted Obama with more of a spring in his step.

"This was a strong week for American leadership," Obama said at a news conference at the conclusion of the summit on Sunday. The headline in the country's "Daily Mail" tabloid read "Wham Bam," below a picture of a confident-looking U.S. President.

Obama's trip to Asia began with a foreign policy bright spot -- the release of two American prisoners from North Korea. In China, the president unveiled a surprise climate deal with China. Stopping in Myanmar, Obama pointed to progress in democratic reforms in the Southeast Asian country. Arriving in Australia, there were ample opportunities to take some jabs at Russian President Vladimir Putin.

As a result, Obama left for Washington, largely having avoided the mishaps that dogged his recent foreign travels -- save of course the blip of chewing gum in China. The result was a trip more focused on deliverables than distractions.

"If you ask me I'd say that's a pretty good week," Obama said Sunday. "I intend to build on that momentum when I return home tomorrow."

Challenges however weren't far behind Air Force One. Within hours after Obama's departure from Australia, a new foreign policy test had emerged for his administration -- reports that an American aid worker, Peter Kassig, had been beheaded by ISIS.

Related: Obama calls hostage's beheading by ISIS 'pure evil'

Before leaving Australia, the President offered no apologies for Putin's frosty reception in Brisbane.

But he steered clear of the heated rhetoric used by Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbot who scoffed that Putin was reliving the glories of the Soviet Union or Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper who ordered the Russian leader to "get out of Ukraine."

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Obama declares 'strong week' abroad

STORY HIGHLIGHTS

Washington (CNN) -- A defiant Barack Obama dives into what could be a defining period of his presidency this week, after repeatedly enraging Republicans from afar during his Asia tour.

Obama faces showdowns with the GOP over immigration, the Keystone XL pipeline and his drive for a nuclear deal with Iran, all of which have huge consequences for his political legacy.

Far from being chastened by the Republican capture of the Senate, Obama is setting out to prove he is no lame duck and can still set the agenda.

But the GOP insists the mid-terms gave them a share of power in Washington, and believe Obama risks usurping his authority and even the constitution with his bold new strategy.

Obama drawing lines on immigration, climate change

Obama chose a highly symbolic setting to set the tone for two final White House years in which he will face a unified Republican Congress.

Side-by-side in Myanmar with the world's most famous dissident, Obama refused to bow to what Republicans regard as the capital's new political "reality."

On the veranda of the lakeside villa from where Aung San Suu Kyi faced down a junta, Obama said he had long warned House Republicans he would use executive power to reform the US immigration system if they failed to.

"That's gonna happen. That's gonna happen before the end of the year."

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Defiant Obama won't bend to GOP

U.S. President Barack Obama comes off a swing through the Asia-Pacific region punctuated by a series of foreign policy victories only to return to a more deeply entrenched opposition in Washington.

After eight days spent locking in trade and climate agreements with China, trying to reassure allies about the U.S. commitment to their interests and pushing along the democratic transition in Myanmar, Obama he said he would try and leverage goodwill from the trip in service to his domestic agenda.

If you ask me Id say thats a pretty good week, Obama said after he ticked through a list of accomplishments at a news conference yesterday, shortly before departing Brisbane, Australia. The American people can be proud of the progress weve made and I intend to build on that momentum when I return home.

Obama arrives back in the U.S. with major issues on his plate and a limited window of time to deal with them. Democrats are in their final weeks as the majority party in the U.S. Senate. Spending and tax bills are being negotiated. Lawmakers are debating legislation to approve the Keystone XL pipeline over his repeated insistence that the review process at the State Department be allowed to play out.

He also faces a decision, as soon as this week, on what executive actions hell take on immigration -- such as easing deportations for some categories of undocumented immigrants -- that will set up a confrontation with Republicans.

While Obama was in Myanmar, House Speaker John Boehner told reporters in Washington that Republicans will fight the president tooth and nail if he follows through on his plan. Congressional Republicans have raised the prospect of legal action or even a government shutdown to try and stop him from acting unilaterally on immigration.

Obama yesterday dismissed the threat of shutting down the government by holding up spending measures to keep operations going. The political pain for both parties resulting from a partial government shutdown was too intense to repeat.

We traveled that path before, Obama said. Besides, Obama added, Kentucky Republican Senator Mitch McConnell, who is set to become majority leader when the new Congress is seated in January, said the day after the midterm elections that there would there would be no closing down the government.

I take Mitch McConnell at his word, Obama said.

Some Republicans in Washington have suggested Obama may be underestimating how far lawmakers are willing to go to block him on immigration. McConnell and Boehner have warned that Obama risks poisoning relations at the Capitol.

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Obamas Asia Momentum to Run Into Capitol Hill Reality

Washington The Senate is scheduled to vote on the controversial Keystone XL pipeline project Tuesday. If it passes and thats still in doubt the bill will go to President Obamas desk. He has signaled he is likely to veto it.

That pushes the whole issue into next year and the new Congress, where Republicans will control both chambers. The political reality of Mr. Obamas final two years in office will be in place. And the most important numbers will be 67 and 290 the number of votes needed in the Senate and House, respectively, to overturn a presidential veto.

But lets take a step back and look at just how important or not Keystone is to Obamas legacy. Big picture, the economy and health care reform are his most important legacy issues. Immigration probably comes next, especially if he takes executive action to defer deportations, as promised. Then theres climate change.

The pipeline project, partially completed and awaiting US approval of the final leg for six years, would carry tar-sands oil from Canada to the Texas Gulf Coast. Even to environmentalists, a key part of the Democratic base, the project has taken on symbolic importance perhaps going beyond its actual impact on greenhouse gas emissions.

The Keystone XL pipeline has become a symbol of how misguided the energy debate is in Congress, and how desperate oil companies are to go after resources that are dirtier, more dangerous, and more expensive to extract, says Michelle Robinson, director of the Clean Vehicles Program at the Union of Concerned Scientists, in a statement Monday.

Environmentalists will see Obamas final decision on Keystone as a signal of how serious he is about climate change. His agreement with China last week on reducing carbon emissions, seen as a historic first step for the worlds top two polluters, would lose some of its shine if he turned around and approved Keystone.

The Democratic donor base is also looking at how the party goes on Keystone, first among them billionaire anti-Keystone activist Tom Steyer. Obama may be a lame duck, but hes still the leader of the Democratic Party.

Weighing in favor of approving the pipeline is the labor movement, which has its own divisions over Keystone, but is another important element of the Democratic base. AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka has called on Congress to approve the pipeline, citing jobs and the economy.

Weighing against is top adviser John Podesta, the architect of the US-China climate agreement. When Mr. Podesta joined the White House at the beginning of the year, he said he would steer clear of the Keystone issue. But its hard to imagine his presence and his views havent had an impact. Podestas one-year appointment ends soon, at which point he is expected to play a top role in Hillary Rodham Clintons presidential bid. The DNA of Obamas climate and energy policy will head straight into the campaign of the Democrats top prospect for 2016.

For now, Obama can avoid a public decision by saying hes waiting for the State Department to issue its final recommendation and for the Nebraska Supreme Court to rule on a case involving the pipelines route. That ruling is expected in January.

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What the Keystone XL pipeline means for Obamas legacy

After word reached the White House staff who had gathered for a drink in the hotel bar one night last week that President Obama was working out an aggressive climate deal with the Chinese president, the first toast was to the planet.

The second was to the message they believed they were about to broadcast back home: that Obama can still check big things off his to-do list.

"We're not just amblin' off here," said one senior advisor traveling with the president on a weeklong tour of Asia and Australia that began with the surprising commitment with China to cut carbon pollution.

The tour began as a relaunch of sorts closing the books on a fall campaign season largely free of any real initiatives and highlighting Obama's agenda for his final two years in office.

The ambition might prove delusional. Weakened as the president is by the bruising he and his Democratic Party took in the midterm elections, there are serious questions about whether he can achieve anything with the GOP in control of Congress. Awaiting Obama in Washington are Republican leaders already preparing to curb his ambitions on climate, immigration and other issues the president has said he'll act on without lawmakers.

"Congress is going to stand up to the president, and the American people expect them to do that," Republican Sen. Mike Lee of Utah said Sunday on CBS' "Face the Nation."

For his part, Obama said Sunday in a news conference here that he will "build on the momentum" of the last week when he returns to the White House.

"He seems determined to take signature issues on the legacy he wants to leave and use his executive authority as effectively as he can" to act on them, said Kenneth Lieberthal, a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution and former Asia director in President Clinton's National Security Council. "That's going to get a lot of yelling and screaming from the other side of the aisle."

The clamor began right away. Congressional Republicans vented over the weekend about the president's deal with China and promise to reform immigration by executive fiat.

"This president, right now, is choosing friction, partisanship and accomplishment instead of cooperation," Sen. John Thune (R-S.D.) said on "Fox News Sunday." "There's an opportunity for us to get some things done here, and instead, the president is going down this unilateral path."

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Obama's Asia tour relaunches his efforts on 'legacy' issues