Head of Eisenhower library resigns after sword spat with Trump administration [View all]

Source: CBS News

Updated on: October 2, 2025 / 3:52 PM EDT


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, said he stepped down on Monday under pressure as director of the Dwight D. Eisenhower Presidential Library, Museum and Boyhood Home.

In an interview with CBS News, Arrington said he was told on Monday, "Resign — or be fired." "Apparently, they believed I could no longer be trusted with confidential information," he said. When asked what specific confidential information he'd shared, Arrington said it was "about the sword" and an unrelated matter.

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.

Read more: https://www.cbsnews.com/news/sword-trump-king-charles-eisenhower-library/