U.S. President Donald Trump will award the 2018 Presidential Medal of Freedom to Elvis Presley, George Herman 'Babe' Ruth, Jr. and five other individuals, the White House said in a statement on Saturday. WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump has announced his first recipients of the Presidential Medal of Freedom and they include the wife of a major Republican Party donor, the longest-serving Republican senator in U.S. history, Elvis Presley and Babe Ruth. Also receiving the award next week will be Republican Senator Orrin Hatch, former Minnesota Supreme Court Justice and the first African-American to serve on that court Alan Page, the late Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia, and former professional football player Roger Staubach. Other recipients named for “the Nation’s highest civilian honor” include baseball legend Babe Ruth, former Dallas Cowboys quarterback Roger Staubach, conservative Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia, GOP Senator Orrin Hatch, doctor and philanthropist Miriam Adelson (wife of billionaire Republican megadonor Sheldon Adelson), judge and Pro Football Hall of Famer Alan Page. Alan Page, a former Minnesota Viking and a Supreme Court justice for that state, will be honored, as will Vietnam veteran Roger Staubach, a Heisman Trophy winner and two-time Super Bowl champion with the Dallas Cowboys. According to a White House statement Saturday, the medal is awarded to those who have "made especially meritorious contributions to the security or national interests of the United States, to world peace, or to cultural or other significant public or private endeavors.”

Trump did not name any Medal of Freedom winners in 2017.
Elvis Presley, Babe Ruth, Roger Staubach, Antonin Scalia, Orrin Hatch, doctor and philanthropist Miriam Adelson, and Alan Page are expected to be recipients for the Presidential Medal of Freedom award.