Please ensure Javascript is enabled for purposes of website accessibility
Hillary Clinton, George Soros and Denzel Washington Will Receive the Highest US Civilian Honor
gvw_ap_news
By Associated Press
Published 2 days ago on
January 4, 2025

Biden to award Presidential Medal of Freedom to 19 notable figures in White House ceremony. (AP File)

Share

WASHINGTON — Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, Democratic philanthropist George Soros and actor-director Denzel Washington will be awarded the nation’s highest civilian honor on Saturday in a White House ceremony.

President Joe Biden will bestow the Presidential Medal of Freedom to 19 of the most famous names in politics, sports, entertainment, civil rights, LGBTQ+ advocacy and science.

The White House said the recipients have made “exemplary contributions to the prosperity, values, or security of the United States, world peace, or other significant societal, public or private endeavors.”

Four medals are to be awarded posthumously. They are going to Fannie Lou Hamer, who founded the Mississippi Freedom Democratic Party and laid the groundwork for the 1965 Voting Rights Act; former Attorney General and Sen. Robert F. Kennedy; George W. Romney, who served as both a Michigan governor and secretary of housing and urban development; and Ash Carter, a former secretary of defense.

Kennedy is father to Robert F. Kennedy Jr., President-elect Donald Trump’s nominee for health and human services secretary. Romney is the father of former Utah Republican Sen. Mitt Romney, one of Trump’s strongest conservative critics.

Philanthropists and Celebrities Honored

Major philanthropists receiving the award include Spanish American chef José Andrés, whose World Central Kitchen charity has become one of the world’s most recognized food relief organizations, and Bono, the frontman for rock band U2 and a social justice activist.

Sports and entertainment stars being recognized include professional soccer player Lionel Messi; retired Los Angeles Lakers basketball legend and businessman Earvin “Magic” Johnson; actor Michael J. Fox, who is an outspoken advocate for Parkinson’s disease research and development; and William Sanford Nye, known to generations of students as “Bill Nye the Science Guy.”

Other awardees include conservationist Jane Goodall; longtime Vogue Magazine editor-in-chief Anna Wintour; American fashion designer Ralph Lauren; American Film Institute founder George Stevens Jr.; entrepreneur and LGBTQ+ activist Tim Gill; and David Rubenstein, co-founder of The Carlyle Group global investment firm.

Last year, Biden bestowed the Presidential Medal of Freedom on 19 people, including the late Medgar Evers, House Speaker Emerita Nancy Pelosi, Rep. James Clyburn of South Carolina and actor Michelle Yeoh.

RELATED TOPICS:

DON'T MISS

Major US Winter Blast Shuts Down Schools and Government Offices in Several States

DON'T MISS

Five Things to Watch as CA Legislature Returns to Capitol

DON'T MISS

Harris Will Oversee Certification of Her Defeat to Trump Four Years After He Sparked Capitol Attack

DON'T MISS

Austrian Far Right Gets Mandate To Try To Lead a Government for the First Time Since World War II

DON'T MISS

Stock Market Today: Nvidia and Other Tech Stocks Drive Wall Street Higher

DON'T MISS

Biden Issues Ban on Offshore Oil and Gas Drilling in Most Federal Waters. Trump Vows To Undo It

DON'T MISS

Canada’s Trudeau Is Set To Resign as Liberal Party Leader, Spelling End to Time in Power

DON'T MISS

Bulldogs Bolster Backfield with a Recruit, Transfer and Gilliam’s Return in One Weekend

DON'T MISS

Amazon Will Stream Melania Trump Documentary by Director Bruce Ratner

DON'T MISS

No Curry? No Problem for Warriors in Win Over Grizzlies

UP NEXT

Five Things to Watch as CA Legislature Returns to Capitol

UP NEXT

Harris Will Oversee Certification of Her Defeat to Trump Four Years After He Sparked Capitol Attack

UP NEXT

Austrian Far Right Gets Mandate To Try To Lead a Government for the First Time Since World War II

UP NEXT

Stock Market Today: Nvidia and Other Tech Stocks Drive Wall Street Higher

UP NEXT

Biden Issues Ban on Offshore Oil and Gas Drilling in Most Federal Waters. Trump Vows To Undo It

UP NEXT

Canada’s Trudeau Is Set To Resign as Liberal Party Leader, Spelling End to Time in Power

UP NEXT

Amazon Will Stream Melania Trump Documentary by Director Bruce Ratner

UP NEXT

No Curry? No Problem for Warriors in Win Over Grizzlies

UP NEXT

Israel Helps Former Soldier Flee Brazil Over Probe of Alleged Gaza War Crimes

UP NEXT

Crawford Excels, but Bulldogs Remain Winless in MW With Loss at Utah State

Austrian Far Right Gets Mandate To Try To Lead a Government for the First Time Since World War II

21 minutes ago

Stock Market Today: Nvidia and Other Tech Stocks Drive Wall Street Higher

26 minutes ago

Biden Issues Ban on Offshore Oil and Gas Drilling in Most Federal Waters. Trump Vows To Undo It

33 minutes ago

Canada’s Trudeau Is Set To Resign as Liberal Party Leader, Spelling End to Time in Power

38 minutes ago

Bulldogs Bolster Backfield with a Recruit, Transfer and Gilliam’s Return in One Weekend

17 hours ago

Amazon Will Stream Melania Trump Documentary by Director Bruce Ratner

22 hours ago

No Curry? No Problem for Warriors in Win Over Grizzlies

22 hours ago

Israel Helps Former Soldier Flee Brazil Over Probe of Alleged Gaza War Crimes

22 hours ago

Crawford Excels, but Bulldogs Remain Winless in MW With Loss at Utah State

22 hours ago

Higher Social Security Payments Coming for Millions of Americans

23 hours ago

Major US Winter Blast Shuts Down Schools and Government Offices in Several States

ANNAPOLIS, Md. — A major winter blast of snow, ice, wind and plunging temperatures in the U.S. stirred dangerous travel conditions from cent...

3 minutes ago

Law enforcement officers stand guard at the Capitol as snow falls ahead of a joint session of Congress to certify the votes from the Electoral College in the presidential election, in Washington, Monday, Jan. 6, 2025. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)
3 minutes ago

Major US Winter Blast Shuts Down Schools and Government Offices in Several States

Photo of President Donald Trump
8 minutes ago

Five Things to Watch as CA Legislature Returns to Capitol

Democratic presidential nominee Vice President Kamala Harris speaks during a campaign rally outside the Philadelphia Museum of Art, Monday, Nov. 4, 2024, in Philadelphia. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)
17 minutes ago

Harris Will Oversee Certification of Her Defeat to Trump Four Years After He Sparked Capitol Attack

Austria's Freedom Party leader Herbert Kickl leaves the presidential office, in Vienna, Austria, Monday, Jan. 06, 2025. (AP/Heinz-Peter Bader)
21 minutes ago

Austrian Far Right Gets Mandate To Try To Lead a Government for the First Time Since World War II

A trader works on the floor at the New York Stock Exchange in New York's Financial District Thursday, Jan. 2, 2025. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)
26 minutes ago

Stock Market Today: Nvidia and Other Tech Stocks Drive Wall Street Higher

33 minutes ago

Biden Issues Ban on Offshore Oil and Gas Drilling in Most Federal Waters. Trump Vows To Undo It

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau looks on during a cabinet swearing-in ceremony at Rideau Hall in Ottawa, on Friday, Dec.20, 2024.(Sean Kilpatrick /The Canadian Press via AP)
38 minutes ago

Canada’s Trudeau Is Set To Resign as Liberal Party Leader, Spelling End to Time in Power

17 hours ago

Bulldogs Bolster Backfield with a Recruit, Transfer and Gilliam’s Return in One Weekend

Help continue the work that gets you the news that matters most.

Search

Send this to a friend