WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. — President-elect Donald Trump has declared his plan to appoint a new head of the National Archives, drawing fresh scrutiny to the agency in light of his recent federal indictment for allegedly mishandling sensitive documents.

“We will have a new archivist,” Trump remarked during an interview with radio personality Hugh Hewitt on Monday.

Trump’s dissatisfaction with the National Archives arises from its decision to alert the Department of Justice regarding potential concerns over his handling of classified information back in early 2022. This notification set off an investigation that culminated in a notable FBI raid on his Mar-a-Lago estate, marking him as the first ex-president to face federal charges.

Colleen Shogan, the current archivist and the first woman to hold this role, was not in office during these events.

Shogan was nominated by President Joe Biden in August 2022 and confirmed in May of the following year after a lengthy partisan battle over the agency’s role in the investigation into the sensitive documents retrieved from Mar-a-Lago in Palm Beach, Florida.

Presidents possess the power to remove the national archivist and appoint a successor, who must then be confirmed by the Senate. Thus, Trump’s intention to make a change in leadership aligns with standard presidential practices.

However, Trump has expressed a broader agenda of dismantling what he refers to as the “deep state”—a term he uses to denote various factions within the federal government, including civil servants and bureaucrats whom he perceives as opposing his and the Republican Party’s views.

Legally, former presidents are required to transfer the majority of their records to the National Archives upon leaving office. Following Trump’s presidency, when the agency found that numerous documents were missing from its archives, it made repeated requests for their return, as detailed in the federal indictment.

Although Trump did eventually return some documents, the indictment claims that he withheld others. Special counsel Jack Smith subsequently charged him with offenses such as willful retention of national defense information, conspiracy to obstruct justice, and making false statements.

Trump has pleaded not guilty and asserts that he has done nothing wrong. Following his success on Election Day in November, prosecutors attempted to dismiss the case, in line with the long-standing Justice Department policy that maintains sitting presidents cannot face criminal prosecution.