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    Nixon Foundation president is picked to oversee National Archives
    • February 18, 2025

    James Byron, president and CEO of the Richard Nixon Foundation, has been selected to help oversee the National Archives and Records Administration.

    President Donald Trump on Sunday, Feb. 16, took to social media to announce Byron, 31, will serve as a senior advisor to acting archivist Secretary of State Marco Rubio at the National Archives. The government agency is tasked with preserving important records and documents.

    “Jim will manage the National Archives on a day-to-day basis, while we continue our search for a full-time Archivist,” Trump said in a post on his Truth Social account. “Jim has worked with the National Archives for many years, and understands the great responsibility and duty we have to preserve the History of our Great Country.”

    Byron, of Costa Mesa, will take a leave of absence from the Nixon Foundation while serving in the National Archives and Records Administration. While gone, Joe Lopez, the foundation’s vice president of marketing and communications, will serve as acting president and CEO.

    The Chapman graduate took the top post at the foundation in 2021. As president, his goal has been to create an immersive and educational experience for visitors around the globe who come to Yorba Linda to visit the presidential library, according to his biography on the foundation’s website.

    Through special exhibits — including former President George. W. Bush’s “Portraits of Courage: A Commander in Chief’s Tribute to America’s Warriors,” which visited the library in 2024 — Byron has said he hopes to raise the foundation’s and library’s national impact and online presence.

    Byron also oversaw the American Civics campaign, a $40 million effort launched in 2023 that helps educate middle and high school students on American civics and history.

    “The Nixon Foundation is pleased that President Trump has appointed Jim Byron to this important role at the National Archives. The Board congratulates Jim and looks forward to welcoming him back to Yorba Linda when his work is finished. We wish him great success,” said Robert O’Brien, chair of the Nixon Foundation.

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    “Jim Byron’s fingertips on maintaining and curating America’s history are found all over Orange County,” said Will O’Neill, former Newport Beach mayor and recently elected chair of the Orange County Republican Party. “Our county’s loss is truly our nation’s gain. I commend President Trump on his election and wish Jim the absolute best as senior advisor to our nation’s acting archivist.”

    Recently, acting archivist William J. Bosanko and other senior staff members reportedly resigned from the National Archives, the latest shakeup since Trump took office again.

    Byron, according to his bio, is a native of Santa Monica who grew up in Orange County.

    Byron is just one of several people from Southern California who is serving in the new Trump administration.

    O’Brien, a longtime attorney in Los Angeles and chair of the Nixon Foundation’s Board of Directors, was tapped earlier this month to serve as a member on the President’s Intelligence Advisory Board. In an emailed release, the White House said those on the advisory board will advise Trump “on our nation’s most important security challenges and ensure that the intelligence community is working to advance the president’s America First agenda.”

    ​ Orange County Register 

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