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

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.