White House forcing out top leadership at National Archives in major shakeup – CNN
The Trump administration is forcing out senior leadership at the National Archives and Records Administration in a major shakeup, according to a source familiar. President Donald Trump has been highly critical of the archives since the agency asked the Department of Justice to investigate Trump’s mishandling of classified documents after he left office.
Following the dismissal of Archivist Colleen Shogan last week, Trump officials made it clear to agency staff that the White House wanted to remove the leadership team and replace top officials with Trump loyalists, according to the source.
The first notice to staff came in an email Friday from Deputy Archivist William J. Bosanko, who told members of his team that he was retiring and that it had been “a privilege and an honor to work” at the Archives for the last 32 years.
A career veteran, whose mother also had a long career at the National Archives, Bosanko went on to write, “Please focus on the mission and look out for one another … You have my deepest respect and admiration. I feel an immense sense of sadness that I am not by your side at this important time in the history of the agency.”
In addition to Bosanko, five other senior officials are also expected to resign, according to the source.
CNN has reached out to the National Archives and the White House for comment.
The role of the National Archives took on new prominence in recent years in the wake of the FBI search of Trump’s Mar-a-Lago resort as part of an investigation into the mishandling of presidential documents, including highly sensitive classified documents.
The exodus of senior staff is seen as a huge loss for the agency, which is considered nonpartisan and dedicated to the preservation of history and documents.
The forced resignations come after Trump vowed to clean house at the agency.
The inspector general of the National Archives referred the case to the Department of Justice in 2022 after more than a year of trying to negotiate with Trump the return of presidential papers including highly classified documents.
Bosanko, who has been acting Archivist since Shogan was fired by the White House, is a well-liked and respected figure at NARA.
His colleagues credit Bosanko with keeping the agency nonpartisan, and a former senior official described him as “a consummate professional” who was “dedicated to the preservation of historic documents.”
Bosanko’s farewell letter was titled, “Littera Scripta Manet,” Latin for “The Word Remains,” a meaningful phrase for those who work at the National Archives. Bosanko also attached a copy of the Archivist’s Code.
The White House is expected to announce plans for new leadership at the National Archives in the coming days.
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Source: https://www.cnn.com/2025/02/14/politics/national-archives-leadership-forced-out-trump/index.html
