Archivist of the United States

Chief official of the National Archives and Records Administration

Archivist of the United States

Seal of the National Archives

Incumbent
Marco Rubio
Acting

since February 16, 2025

National Archives and Records Administration
Style| Mr. Archivist
Status| Chief administrator
Seat| National Archives Building, Washington, D.C.
Appointer| The president
with Senate advice and consent
Term length| No fixed term
Constituting instrument| 44 U.S.C. § 2103
Formation| June 19, 1934
First holder| Robert Digges Wimberly Connor
Deputy| Deputy Archivist of the United States
Salary| Executive Schedule, level III
Website| archives.gov

The archivist of the United States is the head and chief administrator of the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) of the United States. The archivist is responsible for the supervision and direction of the National Archives.[1]

The first archivist, R. D. W. Connor, began serving in 1934, when the National Archives was established as an independent federal agency by Congress. The archivists served as subordinate officials of the General Services Administration from 1949 until the National Archives and Records Administration became an independent agency again on April 1, 1985.

President Joe Biden nominated Colleen Joy Shogan for the position on August 3, 2022, with her being confirmed and sworn in by the Senate in May 2023. She was the first woman to hold the position permanently.[2][3][4] On January 6, 2025, President-elect Donald Trump stated in a phone interview with Hugh Hewitt that he intended to replace Shogan as head of the National Archives and Records Administration[5] and on February 7, 2025, it was reported that Shogan had been fired as the national archivist.[6][7]

## Background and role

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The archivist is appointed by the president with the advice and consent of the Senate and is responsible for safeguarding and making available for study all the permanently valuable records of the federal government, including the original Declaration of Independence, Constitution and Bill of Rights, which are displayed in the Archives' main building in Washington, D.C.

Under Public Law No. 98-497, the archivist also must maintain custody of state ratifications of amendments to the Constitution. It is the archivist's duty to issue a certificate proclaiming a particular amendment duly ratified and part of the Constitution if the legislatures of at least three-quarters of the states approve the proposed amendment.[8] The Amendment and its certificate of ratification are then published in the Federal Register and the amendment is included in the United States Statutes at Large. Before the enactment of that statute in 1984, that duty was vested in the General Services Administration, and, before the establishment of that agency in 1949, it formed part of the duties of the United States Secretary of State.

In accordance with Title 1, Chapter 2 §106a of the United States Code, the archivist of the United States also receives the original version of all statutes of the United States, once enacted.[9] Joint resolutions and acts of Congress signed into law by the president are delivered by the Office of the President to the National Archives. The same happens if a bill becomes law because the president fails to approve or veto it. If the president vetoes a bill but the presidential veto is overridden, the new law is transmitted to the National Archives not by the office of the president, but by Congress: in this case, the presiding officer of the last house to consider the bill certifies that the presidential objection was overridden, and sends the new law to the archivist. In all cases, the National Archives maintains custody of the original document and (by means of the Office of the Federal Register, a division of the National Archives), assigns the new Act of Congress a public law number, provides for its publication as a slip law and for the inclusion of the new statute in the United States Statutes at Large. The actual printing and circulation of the slip law and of the volumes of the United States Statutes at Large is the responsibility of the Government Publishing Office, headed by the Director of the Government Publishing Office.

By means of the Office of the Federal Register, the National Archives also publishes documents of the Executive Branch, such as presidential proclamations and executive orders, retaining custody of the original signed documents. The National Archives also has many duties regarding the preservation of presidential papers and materials.

In all United States presidential elections, the archivist also has duties concerning the custody of Electoral College documents, such as certificates of ascertainment declaring the names of the presidential electors chosen in each state, and of the certificates of vote produced by the electors of each state.[10] In practice, these administrative responsibilities are delegated to the Director of the Federal Register.[11]

## Archivists of the United States

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No.[a] | Portrait  | Archivist  | Term  | Appointed by  | Ref.

|
|
|
|
|

Start  | End
1  |  | Robert Digges Wimberly Connor | October 10, 1934  | September 15, 1941  | Franklin D. Roosevelt | [12]
2  |  | Solon J. Buck | September 18, 1941  | May 31, 1948  | [13]
3  |  | Wayne C. Grover | June 2, 1948  | November 6, 1965  | Harry S. Truman | [14]
4  |  | Robert H. Bahmer | November 7, 1965[b] | March 9, 1968  | Lyndon B. Johnson | [15]
5  |  | James B. Rhoads | March 10, 1968[c] | August 31, 1979  | [16]
–  |  | James E. O'Neill | September 1, 1979  | July 23, 1980  | Jimmy Carter | [17]
6  |  | Robert M. Warner | July 24, 1980  | April 15, 1985  | [18]
–  |  | Frank G. Burke | April 16, 1985  | December 4, 1987  | Ronald Reagan | [19]
7  |  | Don W. Wilson | December 4, 1987  | March 24, 1993  | [20]
–  |  | Trudy Huskamp Peterson | March 25, 1993  | May 29, 1995  | Bill Clinton | [21]
8  |  | John W. Carlin | May 30, 1995  | February 15, 2005  | [22]
9  |  | Allen Weinstein | February 16, 2005  | December 19, 2008  | George W. Bush | [23]
–  |  | Adrienne Thomas | December 19, 2008  | November 5, 2009  | [24]
10  |  | David Ferriero | November 6, 2009  | April 30, 2022  | Barack Obama | [25]
–  |  | Debra Steidel Wall | May 1, 2022  | May 17, 2023  | Joe Biden | [26]
11  |  | Colleen Joy Shogan | May 17, 2023  | February 7, 2025  | [27]
–  |  | William J. Bosanko | February 7, 2025  | February 16, 2025  | Donald Trump | [28][29]
–  |  | Marco Rubio | February 16, 2025  | Incumbent | [30][29]

## Notes

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1. ^ A dash denotes Acting Archivist of the United States
2. ^ Served first as Acting Archivist of the United States from November 7, 1965, until his appointment as Archivist of the United States on January 16, 1966.
3. ^ Served first as Acting Archivist of the United States from March 10, 1968, until his appointment as Archivist of the United States on May 2, 1968.

## References

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1. ^ 44 U.S.C. § 2102
2. ^ "PN2457 - Nomination of Colleen Joy Shogan for National Archives and Records Administration, 117th Congress (2021-2022)". August 3, 2022.
3. ^ "Shogan Confirmed by U.S. Senate as 11th Archivist of the United States". National Archives. May 9, 2023. Retrieved May 11, 2023.
4. ^ "Shogan Assumes Office as 11th Archivist of the United States". National Archives and Records Administration. May 17, 2023. Retrieved May 18, 2023.
5. ^ Haberman, Maggie; Gold, Michael; Barrett, Devlin (January 6, 2025). "Trump Says He'll Replace the National Archives Leader". The New York Times.
6. ^ Watson, Kathryn (February 7, 2025). "Trump fires archivist of the United States, official who oversees government records - CBS News". www.cbsnews.com. Retrieved February 8, 2025.
7. ^ Gangel, Donald Judd, Betsy Klein, Jamie (February 8, 2025). "Trump administration dismisses national archivist | CNN Politics". CNN. Retrieved February 8, 2025.`{{cite web}}`: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
8. ^ Pub. L. 98–497
9. ^ 1 U.S.C. § 106a
10. ^ 3 U.S.C. §§ 6–13
11. ^ U. S. Electoral College: Roles and Responsibilities
12. ^ "Robert D.W. Connor, First Archivist of the United States (Archivist: 1934–1941)". National Archives. National Archives and Records Administration. August 15, 2016. Retrieved August 9, 2022.
13. ^ "Solon Justus Buck, Second Archivist of the United States (Archivist: 1941–1948)". National Archives. National Archives and Records Administration. August 15, 2016. Retrieved August 9, 2022.
14. ^ "Wayne Grover, Third Archivist of the United States (1948–1965)". National Archives. National Archives and Records Administration. August 15, 2016. Retrieved August 9, 2022.
15. ^ "Robert H. Bahmer, Fourth Archivist of the United States (Archivist: 1965–1968)". National Archives. National Archives and Records Administration. August 15, 2016. Retrieved August 9, 2022.
16. ^ "Robert H. Bahmer, Fourth Archivist of the United States (Archivist: 1965–1968)". National Archives. National Archives and Records Administration. August 15, 2016. Retrieved August 9, 2022.
17. ^ "James E. O'Neill, Acting Archivist of the United States (1979-1980)". National Archives. National Archives and Records Administration. August 15, 2016. Retrieved August 9, 2022.
18. ^ "Robert M. Warner, Sixth Archivist of the United States (Archivist: 1980-1985)". National Archives. National Archives and Records Administration. August 15, 2016. Retrieved August 9, 2022.
19. ^ "Frank G. Burke, Acting Archivist of the United States (1985-1987)". National Archives. National Archives and Records Administration. August 15, 2016. Retrieved August 9, 2022.
20. ^ "Don W. Wilson, Seventh Archivist of the United States (Archivist: 1987–1993)". National Archives. National Archives and Records Administration. August 15, 2016. Retrieved August 9, 2022.
21. ^ "Trudy Huskamp Peterson, Acting Archivist of the United States (1993-1995)". National Archives. National Archives and Records Administration. August 15, 2016. Retrieved August 9, 2022.
22. ^ "John Carlin, Eighth Archivist of the United States (Archivist: 1995-2005)". National Archives. National Archives and Records Administration. August 15, 2016. Retrieved August 9, 2022.
23. ^ "Allen Weinstein, Ninth Archivist of the United States (2005-2008)". National Archives. National Archives and Records Administration. August 15, 2016. Retrieved August 9, 2022.
24. ^ "Adrienne Thomas, Acting Archivist of the United States (2008-2009)". National Archives. National Archives and Records Administration. August 15, 2016. Retrieved August 9, 2022.
25. ^ "David S. Ferriero, Tenth Archivist of the United States". National Archives. National Archives and Records Administration. August 15, 2016. Retrieved August 9, 2022.
26. ^ "Acting Archivist of the United States". National Archives. National Archives and Records Administration. March 4, 2022. Retrieved August 9, 2022.
27. ^ "Shogan Confirmed by U.S. Senate as 11th Archivist of the United States". National Archives. National Archives and Records Administration. May 10, 2023. Retrieved May 10, 2023.
28. ^ Gerstein, Josh; Cheney, Kyle (February 7, 2025). "Trump fires National Archives chief". Politico. Retrieved February 8, 2025. "Without further action by Trump, Deputy Archivist [William J.] Bosanko — a career employee — would automatically step in as the acting head of the Archives."
29. ^ a b Vazquez, Maegan (February 16, 2025). "Acting archivist, inspector general for National Archives forced out". The Washington Post. Archived from the original on February 17, 2025. Retrieved February 22, 2025.
30. ^ Trump, Donald (February 16, 2025). "'I am pleased to announce that Jim Byron will be serving as Senior Advisor to our Acting Archivist, United States Secretary of State Marco Rubio, at the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA). Jim will manage the National Archives on a day-to-day basis, while we continue our search for a full-time Archivist. Jim has worked with the National Archives for many years, and understands the great responsibility and duty we have to preserve the History of our Great Country.'". Truth Social. Archived from the original on February 22, 2025. Retrieved February 22, 2025.

## External links

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* Official website
* AOTUS Blog - from the "Collector in Chief"
* Archivists of the United States, 1934 – present

*[No.]: Number
*[Ref.]: Reference(s)
*[Pub. L.]: Public Law