WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. — President-elect Donald Trump is promising to replace the head of the National Archives, thrusting the agency back into the political spotlight after his mishandling of sensitive documents led to a federal indictment.
“We will have a new archivist,” Trump told radio host Hugh Hewitt on Monday.
The agency piqued Trump’s ire after it alerted the Department of Justice about potential problems with Trump’s handling of classified documents in early 2022. That set in motion an investigation that led to a dramatic FBI search of Trump’s home at Mar-a-Lago, which culminated in him becoming the first former president charged with federal crimes.
[time-brightcove not-tgx=”true”]The current archivist, Colleen Shogan, the first woman in the role, wasn’t in the post at that time.
She was nominated by President Joe Biden in August 2022 but not confirmed until May of the following year. That followed a monthslong partisan battle over the agency’s role in the investigation into sensitive documents seized at Mar-a-Lago in Palm Beach, Florida.
The national archivist can be removed from office by the president, who can choose a successor who is then confirmed by the Senate, so Trump’s promise to do so is not unusual.
Still, Trump has vowed to smash what he calls the “ deep state,” a nebulous term referring generally to the federal government, including civil servants and bureaucrats he argues are hostile to his ideological views and those of Republicans more broadly.
Presidents are legally required to provide most of their records to the National Archives once they leave office. When the National Archives realized that some documents were missing from its collection after Trump left office, they made repeated demands for him to return them, according to the federal indictment.
Trump eventually turned over some of the documents but hid others, the indictment charged. He was indicted by special counsel Jack Smith on charges including willful retention of national defense information, conspiracy to obstruct justice and false statements and representations.
He pleaded not guilty and denied wrongdoing. Prosecutors moved to abandon the case after his Election Day victory in November. That was consistent with long-standing Justice Department policy that says sitting presidents cannot face criminal prosecution.
