The director of the Dwight D. Eisenhower Presidential Library resigned Monday after resisting turning over a sword from the institution's collection so President Trump could present it to Britain's King Charles during his state visit to the UK last month. Todd Arrington, a historian with previous roles at the National Park Service and National Archives, said he was told to resign or face termination, CBS News reports. He stated the dispute centered on a request to remove an original Eisenhower sword so it could become a gift to the English monarch. In the end, Charles received a West Point Cadet Saber.
The administration was searching for an artifact linked to President Dwight D. Eisenhower, who was supreme commander of the Allied forces in Europe during World War II, per the New York Times. Arrington objected to turning over an artifact that had been donated to the library in Abilene, Kansas, and was considered under the law as the property of the American people, per CBS, and suggested presenting a replica. Arrington said he communicated only with the State Department's Foreign Gift Office and colleagues at the National Archives, not with the White House.
The hiring and firing of presidential library directors falls under the authority of the archivist of the United States, a job now held on an acting basis by Secretary of State Marco Rubio. Arrington, who took the library's top job in August 2024, said a separate issue involving a new building for the nonprofit Eisenhower Foundation was also cited as a reason for his ouster, and the Times reports that officials at the National Archives and Records Administration were unhappy with him. Buckingham Palace didn't say which sword Charles has but said in a statement that it's "a reminder of the historical partnership that was critical to winning World War II."
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