The president-elect made the announcement on Monday.
President-elect Donald Trump vowed to replace the current head of the National Archives amid the agency’s role in a classified documents case that was brought against him.
“We will have a new archivist,” Trump told radio host Hugh Hewitt on Monday, without elaborating.
The current U.S. archivist, Colleen Shogan, was nominated by President Joe Biden in August 2022, just days before the FBI search at Mar-a-Lago, in Palm Beach, Florida. But she was not confirmed until May of the following year, after a months-long battle over the agency’s role in the documents investigation.
Trump did not provide the name of who could replace Shogan in the role.
A president has the power to fire the archivist but has to first “communicate the reasons for any such removal to each House of the Congress,” according to federal law.
“The Archivist of the United States shall be appointed by the President by and with the advice and consent of the Senate. The Archivist shall be appointed without regard to political affiliations and solely on the basis of the professional qualifications required to perform the duties and responsibilities of the office of Archivist,” federal law also stipulates.
A spokesperson for the agency told several news outlets in response to Trump’s comments that Shogan “has had a strong working relationship” with the president-elect and his transition team.
“We look forward to continuing that relationship with the new administration,” the statement said.
Presidents are legally required to provide most of their records to the National Archives once they leave office. According to a federal indictment that was submitted by special counsel Jack Smith in the case, the National Archives found that some documents were missing from its collection after Trump left office and they thus made repeated demands for him to return them.
The indictment alleged that Trump turned over some of the documents but hid others. He was indicted by Smith on charges including willful retention of national defense information, conspiracy to obstruct justice, and false statements and representations.
The president-elect said that the case was politically motivated and pleaded not guilty to the charges, saying he did nothing wrong. Two co-defendants—his valet, Walt Nauta, and Mar-a-Lago manager, Carlos de Oliveira—were also charged in the case. They also pleaded not guilty.
Late last year, prosecutors moved to abandon the case after Trump’s Election Day victory in November. That was consistent with long-standing Department of Justice (DOJ) policy that says sitting presidents cannot face criminal prosecution.
In July 2024, U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon tossed the case and agreed with arguments brought by Trump’s attorneys that Smith was unlawfully appointed to be special counsel. Smith ultimately appealed her ruling to a federal appeals court, but he dropped his appeal against Trump following the election.
Smith’s team also dropped a separate case brought against Trump in Washington that alleged he illegally tried to overturn the 2020 election results.
Later this week, Trump faces sentencing in New York City for his business records falsification conviction that was handed down in May 2024, a case that was brought by Manhattan’s district attorney.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.