The head of a presidential library resigned this week after a tug-of-war with the Trump administration over gift selection and a sword for King Charles III, sources familiar with the matter told CBS News.
Todd Arrington, a career historian who previously held posts with the National Park Service and National Archives and Records Administration, stepped down on Monday as director of the Dwight D. Eisenhower Presidential Library, Museum and Boyhood Home.
Sources said Arrington’s departure came after he resisted taking an original Eisenhower sword out of the library’s collection to give to King Charles last month during President Trump’s unprecedented second state visit to the United Kingdom.
Four U.S. officials involved in the lavish royal visit were unaware that the library director had left his job, and said the White House played no role in his exit.
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In a statement last month, Buckingham Palace didn’t specify which sword was given to the monarch, but noted that Charles was given a replica, saying the gift “symbolizes profound respect and is a reminder of the historical partnership that was critical to winning World War II.”
A former Army general, Eisenhower possessed several swords, including a Sword of Honor given to him in 1947 by the city of London for his role as allied supreme commander during World War II, an honor saber gifted to him by the Netherlands in 1947, and his West Point officer saber.
First Lady Melania Trump personally decided which gifts to give King Charles and Queen Camilla, and wanted to bestow an Eisenhower sword to reiterate the significance of the U.S.-U.K. relationship since World War II, one of the sources said.
Officials at the State Department who compiled an array of gift options for the first lady sought an original sword, sources said. But Arrington argued against giving away an artifact that had been accepted as a donation and had become the property of the American people.
Arrington told officials he could help find an alternative gift, but sources say State Department officials persisted. The library’s team offered to help find a replica.
Ultimately, West Point provided a faux version of Eisenhower’s sword from the military academy.
Some in the Trump administration were unhappy with Arrington, sources said.
Arrington didn’t respond to an email from CBS News seeking comment. The first lady’s office didn’t immediately reply to a request for comment. NARA didn’t reply to requests for comment, nor did the Eisenhower library, but both entities began operating Wednesday with limited staffing due to the partial shutdown of the federal government.
Two sources close to the matter said no one said anything to Arrington about being upset about not being able to have a museum piece — the conversations before the U.K. trip about finding a substitute for the real sword were polite and tension-free.
One administration official said Arrington was believed to have spoken critically about the president and the administration.
The White House plays no formal role in hiring or firing directors of presidential libraries that are part of the National Archives system. The duty of hiring library directors falls instead to the archivist of the United States, who oversees NARA. Secretary of State Marco Rubio is serving as acting archivist, and James Byron, a senior adviser to the archivist, is running day-to-day operations for NARA.
Arrington started in August 2024 as director of the Eisenhower library, in Abilene, Kansas, one of 16 presidential libraries or museums operated by NARA, including those that will be built for Mr. Trump and former presidents Barack Obama and Joe Biden. The president’s son, Eric Trump, announced this week their family plans to one day construct the Trump library and museum in Miami.
