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

2 Answers 2

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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/

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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.

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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. Apr 13 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 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. Apr 14 at 13:57
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    Thank you, but I have no Congresspeople -- Trish Savage, Washington, D.C. Apr 14 at 17:12
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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. Apr 18 at 21:51

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