Biden is giving the Medal of Freedom to a who's who of Democrats (and Katie Ledecky)

President Biden on Friday will give the Presidential Medal of Freedom — the nation's highest civilian honor — to a group of 19 people that includes an unusually large contingent of high-profile Democrats.

There's Rep. Jim Clyburn, D.-S.C., whose endorsement was key in helping Biden win the party's nomination in 2020, and former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi.

There is a trio of Democrats who also made a run for the presidency:

• former Vice President Al Gore, who ran in 2000 and is known for his work on climate issues
• former Secretary of State John Kerry, until recently Biden's climate envoy, who ran in 2004, and
• former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg, a billionaire and philanthropist who backs many Democratic causes, and who ran against Biden in 2020.

Biden will posthumously award the medal to Sen. Frank Lautenberg, D-N.J.

And in a nod to bipartisanship, Biden will also give the award to former Sen. Elizabeth Dole, a cabinet secretary in the Reagan and George H. W. Bush administrations. She also sought the Republican presidential nomination in 2000. Her late husband, Sen. Bob Dole, was a Republican presidential nominee in 1996.

Civil rights leaders are also getting medals

Presidents typically give the medal to people who reflect their priorities, as well as to allies. Former President Donald Trump presented the award to Ohio Rep. Jim Jordan and conservative radio host Rush Limbaugh.

Biden — who was given the award himself by former President Barack Obama — last handed out medals in July 2022 to a group that featured civil rights and labor leaders.

This year's list includes the late Medgar Evers, a pioneer in the civil rights movement in Mississippi who was assassinated in 1963. Also included will be:

• Clarence B.