- There’s a leadership change at the National Archives as the lead archivist, William “Jay” Bosanko, announced his retirement. Sources say several staff members to follow.
- It’s the second major change at the archives this month following the firing of Colleen Shogan.
- President Donald Trump posted on Truth Social that he is appointing Jim Byron to temporarily oversee the archives.
Full Story
The remaining lead archivist of the National Archives is walking out the door, as are several senior staff members, according to multiple media reports. Sources told The Washington Post William “Jay” Bosanko announced his retirement on Friday, Feb. 14.
The departures come as White House officials make it clear they want to clean house at the archives. Bosanko was expected to be acting archivist following the firing of Colleen Shogan in early February. However, President Donald Trump instead appointed Secretary of State Marco Rubio to her post.
Before taking office, Trump said in an interview he would appoint a “new archivist,” and fired Colleen Shogan on Feb. 7. Shogan said in a LinkedIn post Trump gave her “no cause or reason” for her firing.
Why is Trump focused on the National Archives?
The department became one of Trump’s targets after the 2022 investigation of boxes of documents uncovered at his Mar-a-Lago estate. Shogan was not the lead archivist at the time.
The president denied any wrongdoing and said the documents belonged to him. Federal prosecutors charged Trump with illegally hoarding classified documents from his presidency and conspiring with aides to cover up his actions. He faced 40 charges. However, a judge dismissed those charges in 2024.
In late 2022 and early 2023, President Joe Biden’s attorneys discovered documents at Biden’s Delaware home and the Penn Biden Center. They alerted the National Archives to retrieve them. No criminal charges were brought in that case.
The relationship between presidents and the National Archives
According to the Presidential Records Act of 1978 (PRA), the National Archives governs the official records of presidents and vice presidents that were created or received after Jan. 20, 1981. The PRA changed the legal ownership of the official records of the president from private to public.
Bosanko, who is stepping down from the archives, recently spoke to CBS News’ “60 Minutes” about why there is a need for the law.
“When an individual controls the records, they control the story. They control what the American people can know or not know about their presidency,” Bosanko said in September.
The law was established following the Watergate scandal. President Franklin D. Roosevelt established the first presidential library in 1940 and donated his papers there. The archives saw no need to monitor the papers until the 1970s and President Richard Nixon’s attempt to destroy documents.
On Sunday, Feb., President Trump posted on Truth Social that he was appointing Jim Byron as senior adviser to Rubio. Byron will reportedly oversee the archives until a new archivist is appointed.
