WASHINGTON, D.C. — Former U.S. Archivist Colleen Shogan curates the In Pursuit project, a digital history initiative that enforces strict nonpartisan guidelines for essays written by former presidents and historians. President Donald Trump fired Shogan from her position as U.S. Archivist in February 2025 without any explanation or warning.

Shogan instructed contributors to the In Pursuit project not to bring a partisan or ideological lens to their work. "Everybody took those instructions and that guidance very seriously," Shogan said in an interview. "The goal was for all Americans to feel welcome to be able to read these lessons and essays and learn something from them."

The mission is to surface lessons from the past 250 years of American history, drawing from both successes and failures to help plan for the present and future. "It’s what has been described as debriefing the American story," Shogan said. She noted that the position of U.S. Archivist used to be a nonpartisan role, similar to the Librarian of Congress or the secretary of the Smithsonian. "And I took that very seriously and acted the entire time when I was archivist in a nonpartisan way," she added.

No explanation was provided for her termination, and the White House did not respond to inquiries about why Trump fired the archivist or whether Congress would be notified. Federal law requires Congress to be notified of the removal of the U.S. Archivist but does not specify a deadline. Congress has not been notified of the reason for Shogan's termination.

Shogan served as the 11th Archivist of the United States from May 17, 2023, until her dismissal on February 7, 2025. She was the first woman confirmed to serve in the role. Before her appointment, Shogan served as chief historian at the National Archives and director of the White House Historical Association.

Following her departure from the National Archives, Shogan became CEO of In Pursuit, a national civics initiative. The project is organized by More Perfect, a nonpartisan alliance of presidential centers, academics, and organizations. In Pursuit is a 250th-anniversary series in which writers produce essays about U.S. presidents or first ladies.

Former Presidents George W. Bush, Barack Obama, and Bill Clinton contributed essays to the In Pursuit project. George W. Bush, Barack Obama, and Bill Clinton did not mention Donald Trump in their essays. The In Pursuit project does not include essays on President Joe Biden or President Donald Trump, as organizers judged them too recent to be appraised by history.

George W. Bush wrote an essay about George Washington for the In Pursuit project, which was released on Substack on Presidents Day. "Our first president could have remained all-powerful, but twice he chose not to," Bush wrote. "In so doing, he set a standard for all presidents to live up to." He added that George Washington’s humility in giving up power willingly remains among the most consequential decisions and important examples in American politics.

Barack Obama wrote an essay about Abraham Lincoln for the project. Bill Clinton wrote an essay about Theodore Roosevelt. Other notable contributors include Chief Justice John Roberts, who wrote about William Howard Taft, and retired general Stanley McChrystal, who led U.S. and international forces in the Afghanistan War. McChrystal wrote an essay about Ulysses S. Grant.

"The temptation to bend institutions toward personal power is not unique to Grant’s era," McChrystal wrote. "Our future still depends on whether our leaders choose law over loyalty." Hillary Clinton wrote an essay about Eleanor Roosevelt, and Michelle Obama wrote about Jacqueline Kennedy. Karl Rove wrote an essay about William McKinley, Ken Burns wrote an essay about Franklin D. Roosevelt, and Michael Beschloss wrote an essay about Lyndon Johnson. Steve Israel wrote an essay about Millard Fillmore, and David W. Blight wrote an essay about Franklin Pierce.

The In Pursuit project essays cover 43 U.S. presidents and 30 first ladies. Essays are published chronologically and weekly through December. The project has received more than 1 million cumulative views on Substack.

The In Pursuit podcast registered 160,000 audio downloads and nearly 64,000 YouTube views. A documentary about the In Pursuit series is scheduled to air on PBS in October.