President Donald Trump dismissed Colleen Shogan, head of the National Archives, on Friday night, following through on his pledge to replace the agency’s leadership. The National Archives played a central role in the criminal investigation into Trump’s alleged mishandling of classified documents.
Sergio Gor, the White House director of presidential personnel, confirmed Shogan’s termination in a post on X.
“At the direction of @realDonaldTrump, the Archivist of the United States has been dismissed tonight. We thank Colleen Shogan for her service,” Gor wrote.
Neither the White House nor the National Archives provided further comment on the firing, and no replacement for Shogan has been announced.
A LinkedIn post, seemingly from Shogan herself, acknowledged her removal.
“This evening, President Trump fired me. No cause or reason was cited. It has been an honor serving as the 11th Archivist of the United States. I have zero regrets—I absolutely did my best every day for the National Archives and the American people,” the post read.
Trump had hinted at Shogan’s removal last month in an interview with radio host Hugh Hewitt, declaring, “We will have a new archivist.” The National Archives first flagged Trump’s potential mishandling of classified documents to the Justice Department in 2022 after he failed to return records required by law.
While Shogan was not leading the agency at the time, her dismissal is the latest in a series of firings targeting officials linked to past investigations against Trump. Since taking office last month, the administration has removed multiple Justice Department lawyers and senior FBI officials.
Additionally, two groups of FBI agents who participated in investigations into Trump have filed lawsuits against the DOJ, alleging they were targeted for dismissal through a misleading internal survey.
Trump, who was federally charged over classified document retention but pleaded not guilty, saw the case against him dismissed last year by Trump-appointed Judge Aileen Cannon. The DOJ’s special counsel, Jack Smith, appealed the ruling but ultimately dropped the case following Trump’s re-election, citing the department’s long-standing policy against prosecuting sitting presidents.
Trump’s latest personnel shakeup underscores his broader effort to reshape the federal government, particularly agencies involved in past legal scrutiny of his actions.
