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Why the Obama Presidential Center is immune to Trump's cuts

President Trump's widespread federal layoffs have come for presidential libraries.

The latest: The Boston-based John F. Kennedy Presidential Library abruptly closed Tuesday afternoon, citing staff layoffs at the National Archives, which runs presidential libraries across the country.


Zoom out: The Trump administration is auditing federal spending across several departments using the newly minted Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), advised by Elon Musk.

The intrigue: While these libraries may be at the mercy of DOGE, the future Obama Presidential Center in Chicago is not.

  • It's not technically a presidential library and therefore, does not fall under the umbrella of the National Archives.

Zoom in: The Obama Center chose to digitize archives and forgo adding a research library. Any remaining physical archival materials will be housed in Maryland.

  • All 13 presidents dating back to Herbert Hoover have presidential libraries under the National Archives. Obama is the first president to do it this way.
  • The Obama Foundation did not use federal funding for the project. Instead, it relied on private donations and the city of Chicago.

Reality check: It's unclear if Obama's decision to part ways with the National Archives had anything to do with future federal funding. At the time of the decision, many historians criticized Obama for being misleading, saying a privately run center opens the door for sharing biased information.

  • Obama refused to divulge why the decision was made except to say that the archive should be digital to reflect the era.
  • Now, the decision looks prescient.

What's next: The Obama Presidential Center is set to open in 2026 near Jackson Park.

Editor's note: This story has been updated to correct President Herbert Hoover's name.

Trump administration sues Illinois and Chicago over immigration policies

The Trump administration is suing the city of Chicago, Cook County and the state of Illinois over sanctuary laws that prohibit local law enforcement from aiding U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement in arresting undocumented immigrants.

Why it matters: The lawsuit puts legal pressure on Illinois and other immigration-friendly states as President Trump works to fulfill his campaign promises for mass deportations.


Zoom in: The Justice Department suit claims that local laws impede the federal government from enforcing federal immigration law.

  • The complaint says the local laws are "designed to and in fact interfere with and discriminate against the Federal Government's enforcement of federal immigration law in violation of the Supremacy Clause of the United States Constitution."

Context: Chicago's sanctuary city ordinance dates back to 1985.

Zoom out: The lawsuit comes as Trump has ramped up illegal immigration enforcement in Chicago and other major cities since taking office just over two weeks ago.

  • Newly sworn-in Attorney General Pam Bondi announced Wednesday that the Department of Justice will withhold federal grants to the Chicago Police Department because of the city's ordinance.
  • The DOJ has also threatened to prosecute local officials like Mayor Brandon Johnson and Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker over immigration policies.

What they're saying: "Unlike Donald Trump, Illinois follows the law," a spokesperson for Pritzker said in a statement. "Illinois will defend our laws that prioritize police resources for fighting crime while enabling state law enforcement to assist with arresting violent criminals. We look forward to seeing them in court."

  • Pritzker has previously said he welcomes the removal of violent criminals who are undocumented, but stopped short of advocating to change the state law.
  • Johnson has not commented on the lawsuit but addressed the challenges to Chicago's law at a Tuesday press conference.
  • "I don't believe this is just simply about sanctuary cities; this is really about our democracy," he said. "There are two positions โ€” do you support the constitutional rights for equal protection under the law or do you not?"

What's next: Johnson accepted an invitation to testify before the U.S. House Oversight Committee on March 5 about the city's sanctuary city policies.

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