CHICAGO, ILLINOIS – APRIL 15: Former U.S. President Joe Biden speaks at a conference hosted by the Advocates, Counselors, and Representatives for the Disabled (ACRD) on April 15, 2025 in Chicago, Illinois. ACRD champions the rights of those who depen
DELAWARE – Former President Joe Biden will honor his home state by establishing a presidential library in Delaware.
What we know:
A 13-person governance, including former aides, friends and political allies, is leading the fundraising effort for a museum-style library dedicated to Biden’s presidency and service.
The project aims to create a national hub for civic engagement and leadership training.
Private donors are expected to cover the cost of the library.
What we don’t know:
Although Biden has chosen Delaware as the destination for his presidential library, an exact location has yet to be revealed.
An opening date for the library is also unknown at this time.
By the numbers:
The cost of presidential libraries has soared over the decades.
The George H.W. Bush library’s construction cost came in at about $43 million when it opened in 1997. Bill Clinton’s cost about $165 million.
The Obama Foundation has set a whopping $1.6 billion fundraising goal for construction, sustaining global programming and seeding an endowment for the Chicago presidential center that is slated to open next year.
What they’re saying:
Prolific Democratic fundraiser Rufus Gifford, who’s been named chairman of Biden’s library board, predicts that the cost of the project would probably “end up somewhere in the middle” of the Obama Presidential Center and the George H.W. Bush Presidential Library and Museum.
“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 told the Associated Press.
