(The Hill) — Former President Biden selected his home state of Delaware as the site for his presidential library, tasking a group of friends and former aides with beginning a fundraising push to complete the venture.
The library’s governing board, greenlighted by the Joe and Jill Foundation, will consist of 13 members, including former Secretary of State Anthony Blinken, ex-ambassador and Democratic fundraiser Rufus Gifford, senior adviser Steve Ricchetti, and others, the Associated Press (AP) reported on Saturday.
“There’s certainly folks — folks who may have been not thinking about those kinds of issues who are starting to think about them. That being said … we’re not going to create a budget, we’re not going to set a goal for ourselves that we don’t believe we can hit,” Gifford, who was tapped as the library’s board chairman, told the AP.
The team is hitting the fundraising circuit at a time when the Democratic Party is looking for a way forward after suffering losses in the 2024 election and with the Democratic National Committee widely trailing the Republican National Committee in garnering political contributions.
The price tag for presidential libraries has gone up over time.
Former President Clinton’s library cost around $165 million, while former President George W. Bush’s raised $500 million for his library, according to the AP. Former President Obama’s library price tag has soared to north of $800 million.
Gifford, who was the U.S. ambassador to Denmark between 2013 and 2017 and worked as finance chair of the Harris 2024 presidential campaign, estimated that Biden’s project will likely “end up somewhere in the middle” of the Obama Presidential Center and the George H.W. Bush Presidential Library and Museum, the AP reported.
The library, once it opens, will be a “hub for leadership, service and civic engagement,” according to a senior member of the board.
“The project will serve as a vibrant and lasting space where history, learning, and civic leadership come together, inspiring future generations to lead with purpose, serve their communities, and strengthen our nation,” the senior member told CNN.
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