[1] The first Archivist, R. D. W. Connor, began serving in 1934, when the National Archives was established as an independent federal agency by Congress.

President Joe Biden nominated Colleen Joy Shogan for the position on August 3, 2022, with her being confirmed and sworn in by the Senate in May 2023.

[2][3][4] On January 6, 2025, President-elect Donald Trump stated in a phone interview with Hugh Hewitt that he intends to replace Shogan as head of the National Archives and Records Administration.

[8] The Archivist is appointed by the President with the advice and consent of the Senate and is responsible for safeguarding and making available for study all the permanently valuable records of the federal government, including the original Declaration of Independence, Constitution and Bill of Rights, which are displayed in the Archives' main building in Washington, D.C.

In all cases, the National Archives maintains custody of the original document and (by means of the Office of the Federal Register, a division of the National Archives), assigns the new Act of Congress a public law number, provides for its publication as a slip law and for the inclusion of the new statute in the United States Statutes at Large.