Former President Barack Obama has been reaching out behind the scenes to a handful of congressional lawmakers and the party's leadership to discuss the future of the Democratic Party, The Hill reported Sunday.
"He doesn’t want to be president or the voice of the Democratic Party,” one unnamed former aide to Obama told The Hill. "But he’ll definitely be there to guide folks along the way."
According to the Hill, Obama has held meetings "on a by-request basis" with some Democratic House and Senate members — including Maryland Sen. Chris Van Hollen — and Democratic National Committee chairman Tom Perez.
With Perez, the men discussed the outlines of the party's future. With others, the former president has talked about policy, The Hill reported.
"Hey man, it's only the future of the world in your hands," Obama joked with Perez in one conversation, The Hill reported, citing an unnamed DNC aide.
Obama’s former political adviser David Simas, now the CEO of the Obama Foundation, has also been reaching out to DNC officials.
The former president's outreach remains a behind-the-scenes involvement, aiming to provide space for new leadership to step up, but he also wants to be "an available resource," sources told The Hill.
"He doesn’t want the focus to be on him," one unnamed source told the outlet. "He doesn’t want to be out in front."
But Obama will begin emerging on the fundraising circuit and on the stump for candidates including Ralph Northam, the Democrat running for governor of Virginia, in the fall, The Hill reported.
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