Obama plays behind-the-scenes role in rebuilding Democratic Party
Former President Obama is involved in discussions about the future of the Democratic Party, sources close to the former president tell The Hill.
Since leaving office, he has held meetings-on a by-request basis- with a handful of House and Senate lawmakers in his office in Washington's West End and over the phone.
In recent months, for example, he sat down one-on-one with freshman Senator Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.), according to a Democrat familiar with the meeting.
He has also met with and has had phone conversations with Democratic National Committee chairman Tom Perez throughout the spring, according to two sources.
"Hey man, it's only the future of the world in your hands," Obama joked with Perez in one conversation, according to a DNC aide.
Obama's former political adviser David Simas, who is now the CEO of the Obama Foundation, has also been making a string of calls to DNC officials in recent months.
Sources familiar with Obama's meetings with members of Congress declined to offer the names of all of the lawmakers he has met with, saying the sessions were meant to be private.
The DNC source described Obama's chats with Perez as regular "check ins."
Obama hasn't had a major public presence on the political stage, since leaving the White House.
"He doesn't want the focus to be on him," said one source close to the former president. "He doesn't want to be out in front."
But the private activity suggests that the former president, who left the White House with a 60 percent approval rating, is quietly doing more to shape the party than is often visible.
The meetings and calls have come at a time when the Democratic Party, still reeling from the stunning 2016 presidential election loss, is searching for leadership.
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