Jim Byron

National Archives and Record Administration

In February 2025, President Donald Trump announced on Truth Social that he appointed Byron as Senior Advisor to the Archivist of the United States, and charged him with “manag[ing] the National Archives on a day-to-day basis, while we continue our search for a full-time Archivist.” Trump had dismissed Archivist Colleen Shogan days before, and appointed U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio as the Acting Archivist.

Byron initiated a reorganization of the National Archives. On X, he wrote, “The goal [of the reorganization] is to improve public access to incredible documents, artifacts & holdings by shifting resources to support archival transparency,” and said that the “reallocation” would save nearly $50 million, “or more than 10% of the agency’s budget.” This reportedly included 100 layoffs.

On February 5, 2026 NARA General Counsel Matt Dummermuth announced "Prior to the conclusion of his tenure, and to the extent permitted by law, Secretary Rubio delegated the authority to perform the functions of the Archivist to James Byron, who continues to serve as Senior Advisor to the Archivist."

On March 26, 2026, Byron announced to National Archives staff that his last day as Senior Advisor to the Archivist of the United States would be April 3, 2026. He returned to the Richard Nixon Foundation on April 6, 2026.