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By Mandy Taheri
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Elon Musk's Department of Government Efficiency has canceled the lease for the Barack Obama Presidential Library near Chicago amid DOGE's termination of thousands of federal contracts and hundreds of leases.
Newsweek reached out to the Barack Obama Presidential Library via email for comment on Thursday.
Why It Matters
Since taking office on January 20, President Donald Trump has pledged to reduce federal costs dramatically and shrink the government workforce. The lease termination is part of a broader wave of DOGE contract cancellations and federal cost-cutting efforts.
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The lease cancelation is expected to have minimal impact on the library. Federal officials said in 2024 that the library would close later this year and move to a new location.
What To Know
DOGE said on its website that the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA), which controls official presidential libraries and records, has terminated its $1.48 million annual lease with the Obama Presidential Library. DOGE claims this will result in total savings of $740,457.
The Obama Presidential Library is the 14th presidential library administered by NARA.
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A NARA spokesperson told Fox News that the Hoffman Estates location is slated to close before October and move to College Park, Maryland. DOGE did not list a date for the termination.
The library has more than 35,000 artifacts related to the Obama administration, including art, books, textiles, and other historical materials, as well as millions of documents, according to NARA. It also offers access to a digital research room.
The privately owned Obama Presidential Center, which will open in Chicago in 2026, will be a museum, library, and educational hub featuring community and conference spaces.
The Obama Foundation, rather than the NARA, will oversee the site.
What People Are Saying
Charles Tiefer, a retired University of Baltimore law professor and government contracting expert, told The Chicago Tribune: "It's possible (DOGE) has some particular malice toward the real estate holding the archives for the last really popular two-term president. But it's more likely that it's fakery about unrealized savings, the same as in hundreds of other contracts."
U.S. Archivist Colleen Shoga told the Chicago Sun-Times in August 2023 about the Obama Library in Hoffman Estates: "The plan is to digitalize the documents and then be able to pack up and move them to a permanent NARA facility and then work on the digital construction of the library."
What Happens Next
DOGE is expected to continue canceling leases and contracts as part of its effort to reduce federal spending.
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