Barack Obama’s plans to cement his legacy hit another hurdle as Elon Musk’s DOGE canceled the lease for a building in Chicago holding his presidential records.
It was the latest setback for the former president as he and his wife Michelle are fighting back against rumors of divorce.
The storage site being closed by Musk is at Hoffman Estates in the northwest of Chicago and is run by the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA).
NARA began leasing the building in 2016, paying $1.4 million a year in rent, according to the General Services Administration.
It is separate from the 9.3-acre, $830 million Obama Presidential Center in the city’s south side, which is scheduled to open next year.
The Obama President Center has been jinxed from the start as it faces lawsuits, ballooning costs and construction delays.
NARA uses its temporary storage site for tens of millions of documents, classified records, and more than 35,000 artifacts and gifts accumulated by the Obama family during his eight years in office.
Gifts to a president are the property of the United States, per federal law. If a president wants to keep them they must pay full cost – otherwise the gifts go to the Archives for preservation.
Obama keepsakes in storage include a jeweled sword from Saudi Arabia, dresses worn by Michelle Obama at inaugural ceremonies, Barack Obama’s silver BlackBerry, and a baseball signed by the 2010 San Francisco Giants, according to the Chicago Tribune.
The items will be sent to a permanent site in College Park, Maryland, and occasionally lent to the Obama Presidential Center to be put on display.
The Obama Presidential Center – which is still being constructed after a series of problems – is a private venture being funded by the Obama Foundation, which is backed by donors.
But Obama’s records are the property of the federal government.
There are about 25 million unclassified paper documents at the Hoffman Estates building and they are being digitized. They will be available in digital format at the Obama Presidential Center when it opens.
Musk and President Donald Trump have been on a mission to cut the size and scope of the federal government.
The Obama storage facility is one of many federal leases and contracts being terminated, according to a list published by DOGE.
Musk is working to close about half the government office space across the nation.
But nearly 40 percent of the nearly 2,300 announced contract terminations won’t save any money, the Associated Press reported, mostly because the funds were already spent or committed.
And federal officials said they had already planned to exit the lease for the Obama facility later this year.
Meanwhile, Obama had one of the best seats in the house to watch the Los Angeles Clippers on Wednesday night – but he didn’t bring wife Michelle along with him.
Amid months-long divorce rumors facing the couple, who have been married for 32 years, the former president sat with Clippers owner Steve Ballmer – a former Microsoft CEO – and his wife Connie Snyder for the game against Detroit Pistons.
Obama got a massive reception when he was introduced to the crowd during an interval in the game, standing up and waving to fans who had packed out the 18,000-seater Intuit Dome in Inglewood.
The 63-year-old has faced months of intensifying scrutiny over his marriage. Obama was notably alone at Jimmy Carter’s state funeral and Donald Trump’s inauguration, where Michelle broke tradition by declining to attend.
And the Obama Presidential Center has faced many delays.
It faced legal challenges to its plans to build in Jackson Park, an historic public park, in the south side of Chicago.
Obama pushed to have his center – which will be more than a traditional presidential library – built in the historic area, finally winning approval.
Ground was broken in September 2021.
Then, in 2022, construction of the library was halted for several days after a noose was found on site.
The roughly $830 million campus – a massive increase from the original $500 million budget – is expected to include a museum, Obama Foundation offices, a public library and recreational space.
The eventual opening is poised to set a modern record for time between a presidency and completion.
Opening is currently scheduled for 2026.
Ronald Reagan’s library opened just over 1,000 days after Reagan’s last day in office. Bill Clinton’s took 1,398 days. Those of George H.W. Bush and George W. Bush averaged 1,653 days.
It is likely the Obama center will open more than 3,100 days since he was president.
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