Museum head ousted after Trump sword gift denial
Todd Arrington, who led the Dwight D. Eisenhower Presidential Library and Museum, denied the Trump administration a sword from the collection as a gift for King Charles
What happened
The director of the Dwight D. Eisenhower Presidential Library was forced out this week after declining to hand over a sword for President Donald Trump to give King Charles III during the president’s recent state visit to Britain, The New York Times reported Thursday. Todd Arrington — a longtime federal historian who had been at the Eisenhower library in Abilene, Kansas, for a year — told the State Department he was legally obligated to preserve Eisenhower’s sword for the American people.
Who said what
“They asked for a sword and we said, ‘Well, we do have swords, but we can’t give them away because they’re museum artifacts,’” Arrington told Kansas City NPR affiliate KCUR Thursday. A State Department liaison, using the personal email account “giftgirl2025,” originally contacted Arrington to ask for “like a sword or something,” the Times said. Instead, Arrington said, he worked with officials for two months to find the West Point replica sword Trump gifted to the king.
Arrington told CBS News that officials in the National Archives, which manages 13 presidential libraries, told him to “resign — or be fired” on Monday, because “apparently, they believed I could no longer be trusted with confidential information” about “the sword” and a plan to let the private Eisenhower Foundation build an education center on the federal campus. “I never imagined that I would be fired from almost 30 years of government service for this,” he told the Times.
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
What next?
Trump has fired tens of thousands of government workers since taking office and is threatening more mass layoffs during the government shutdown, though “senior federal officials have quietly counseled several agencies” against that, “warning that the strategy may violate appropriations law,” The Washington Post said.
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Peter has worked as a news and culture writer and editor at The Week since the site's launch in 2008. He covers politics, world affairs, religion and cultural currents. His journalism career began as a copy editor at a financial newswire and has included editorial positions at The New York Times Magazine, Facts on File, and Oregon State University.
-
Trump wants to exert control over federal architectureThe Explainer Beyond his ballroom, Trump has several other architectural plans in mind
-
6 well-crafted log homesFeature Featuring a floor-to-ceiling rock fireplace in Montana and a Tulikivi stove in New York
-
‘The nonviolence resulted from the organizers’ message’Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
-
NY attorney general asks public for ICE raid footageSpeed Read Rep. Dan Goldman claims ICE wrongly detained four US citizens in the Canal Street raid and held them for a whole day without charges
-
Trump’s huge ballroom to replace razed East WingSpeed Read The White House’s east wing is being torn down amid ballroom construction
-
Trump expands boat strikes to Pacific, killing 5 moreSpeed Read The US military destroyed two more alleged drug smuggling boats in international waters
-
Trump demands millions from his administrationSpeed Read The president has requested $230 million in compensation from the Justice Department for previous federal investigations
-
Trump nominee in limbo after racist texts leakSpeed Read Paul Ingrassia lost Republican support following the exposure of past racist text messages
-
Trump begins East Wing demolition for ballroomspeed read The president’s new construction will cost $250 million
-
Appeals court clears Trump’s Portland troop deploymentSpeed Read A divided federal appeals court ruled that President Trump can send the National Guard to Portland
-
Can Trump deliver a farmer bailout in time?Today's Big Question Planting decisions and food prices hang in the balance
