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I want to nominate someone posthumously for the Presidential Medal of Freedom. Where do I send my nomination?

Rick Smith
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Trish Savage
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2 Answers2

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Send the nomination to the president.

The Congressional Research Service publication, A Guide to Major Congressional and Presidential Awards, Updated February 21, 2023, has the following information:

Presidential Medal of Freedom

Honorees are selected solely by the President, either acting on his own initiative or based on recommendations made to him. As such, recipients tend to reflect the personal and political interests of the President.

To make a nomination for either the Presidential Medal of Freedom or the Presidential Citizens Medal, a letter detailing the accomplishments of the nominee may be sent to the following:

Executive Office of the President
The White House
ATTN: Executive Clerk’s Office
Washington, DC 20502
https://www.whitehouse.gov/contact/

Rick Smith
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While Rick Smith's answer is technically correct. You will get a better result if you a write a letter detailing why you think so and so would deserve a Presidential Medal of Freedom, and send it to your local congressman, edit: It was pointed out to me by user_18188839 that this would be a bad idea if your local congressman is not in the same political party as el presidante.

As it is extremely unlikely that a letter you send to the president will be glanced at by the president. Your local representative, is much more likely to look at what you have to say.

And if you can successfully persuade them that so & so should get the Presidential Medal of Freedom, a letter written by your congressman has a much greater chance of reaching the president's eyes.

Questor
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    This probably works better if your local congressman and the president don't both think the other party is the spawn of Satan. – user_1818839 Apr 13 '23 at 10:58
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    That's true... Maybe a caveat that you shouldn't do this if your local congressmen is of a different party than the president? – Questor Apr 13 '23 at 16:20
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    "Shouldn't" depends on the characters concerned. Traditionally, there was a lot of respect across parties, despite disagreements. Recently, not so much. – user_1818839 Apr 14 '23 at 13:57
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    Thank you, but I have no Congresspeople -- Trish Savage, Washington, D.C. – Trish Savage Apr 14 '23 at 17:12
  • @TrishSavage... That does make it harder to find someone whose letter won't be trashed by an unpaid intern. – Questor Apr 17 '23 at 17:09
  • @TrishSavage you can write to the congressman from DC, Eleanor Norton. There is a contact link on her official House of Representatives website, https://norton.house.gov/ – Joel Harmon Apr 18 '23 at 21:17
  • @JoelHarmon I did not know that D.C had representatives... I think she is referred to as a 'delegate' instead of a congressman... As she cannot really vote. – Questor Apr 18 '23 at 21:22
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    @Questor I am less clear on the terminology, but I believe "congressman" covers both voting representatives and non-voting delegates (including one each for DC and territories like Guam). In any case, the context is "who do I write to if I want someone to talk to the President for me", and congressional voting rights don't enter into it. The contact point for DC residents is Norton. – Joel Harmon Apr 18 '23 at 21:51
  • @JoelHarmon you are right. Comes from taking a quick glance and see the term delegate used instead of member... So thought they probably had a different term of address. – Questor Apr 18 '23 at 21:59