| Agency Name: | Architect of the Capitol |
| Jurisdiction: | United States Capitol Complex |
| Employees: | 2444 |
| Budget: | $788 million (2022) |
| Chief1 Position: | Architect of the Capitol |
| Chief2 Name: | Thomas Austin[1] |
The Architect of the Capitol is the federal agency responsible for the maintenance, operation, development, and preservation of the United States Capitol Complex. It is an agency of the legislative branch of the federal government[2] and is accountable to the United States Congress and the Supreme Court. Both the agency and the head of the agency are called "Architect of the Capitol". The head of the agency is appointed by a vote of a congressional commission for a ten-year term.[3] [4] Prior to 2024, the president of the United States appointed the Architect upon confirmation vote by the United States Senate,[5] and was accountable to the president.
The agency had 2,444 employees and an annual budget of approximately $788 million as of September 2022.[6]
The head of the agency sits on the Capitol Police Board, which has jurisdiction over the United States Capitol Police, and on the United States Capitol Guide Board, which has jurisdiction over the United States Capitol Guide Service.
Until 1989, the architect of the Capitol was appointed by the president of the United States for an indefinite term. Legislation in 1989 provides that the president appoints the architect for a term of ten years, with the advice and consent of the Senate, from a list of three candidates recommended by a congressional commission composed of the speaker of the House, president pro tem of the Senate, the majority and minority leaders of the House and Senate, and the chair and ranking members of the House Committee on House Administration, the Senate Committee on Rules and Administration, and the House and Senate Committees on Appropriations.[7] On confirmation by the Senate, the architect becomes an official of the legislative branch as an officer and agent of Congress. The architect is eligible for reappointment after completion of the term.
The Architect of the Capitol is responsible to Congress and the Supreme Court for the maintenance, operation, development, and preservation of 17.4e6ft2 of buildings and more than 553acres of land throughout Capitol Hill.[8]
The office is also responsible for the upkeep and improvement of the Capitol grounds, and the arrangement of inaugural ceremonies and other ceremonies held in the building or on the grounds. Legislation over the years has placed additional buildings and grounds under the Architect of the Capitol.
The Capitol Complex includes:[8]
| Image | Architect of the Capitol | nowrap | Term of office | nowrap | Deputy Architect | nowrap | Assistant Architect | nowrap | Appointed by | Notes | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | nowrap | William Thornton | nowrap | 1793–1802 | data-sort-value="9999" | data-sort-value="9999" | Washington | Honored as the "first architect" for his design of the U.S. Capitol. | ||||
| 2 | nowrap rowspan=2 | Benjamin Henry Latrobe | nowrap | March 6, 1803 – July 1, 1811 | Jefferson | Latrobe was appointed twice. President Jefferson appointed him to take over work on the building in 1803, and construction halted in 1811. During the War of 1812, British troops burned the Capitol, prompting President Madison to reappoint Latrobe as Architect of the Capitol to conduct repairs. | ||||||
| nowrap | April 6, 1815 – November 20, 1817 | Madison | ||||||||||
| 3 | nowrap | Charles Bulfinch | nowrap | January 8, 1818 – June 25, 1829 | data-sort-value="9999" | data-sort-value="9999" | Monroe | |||||
| 4 | nowrap | Thomas U. Walter (Engineer-in-charge: Montgomery C. Meigs) | nowrap | June 11, 1851 – May 26, 1865 | data-sort-value="9999" | Edward Clark | Fillmore | Walter and Meigs shared responsibility for the Capitol and the construction of its additions. | ||||
| 5 | nowrap | Edward Clark | nowrap | August 30, 1865 – January 6, 1902 | data-sort-value="9999" | Elliott Woods (1901–1902) | A. Johnson | |||||
| 6 | nowrap | Elliott Woods | nowrap | February 19, 1902 – May 22, 1923 | data-sort-value="9999" | data-sort-value="9999" | T. Roosevelt | |||||
| 7 | nowrap | David Lynn | nowrap | August 22, 1923 – September 30, 1954 | data-sort-value="9999" | Horace Rouzer (1930–1946) Arthur Cook (1946–1959) | Coolidge | |||||
| 8 | nowrap | J. George Stewart | nowrap | October 1, 1954 – May 24, 1970 | data-sort-value="9999" | Arthur Cook (1946–1959) Mario Campioli (1959–1980) | Eisenhower | |||||
| 9 | nowrap | George M. White | nowrap | January 27, 1971 – November 21, 1995 | data-sort-value="9999" | Mario Campioli (1959–1980) William L. Ensign (1980–1997) | Nixon | Ensign acted as Architect after White's retirement until a replacement was appointed | ||||
| 10 | nowrap | Alan M. Hantman | nowrap | January 6, 1997 – February 2, 2007 | Richard A. McSeveney(Deputy: August 2003 - October 2005)Stephen T. Ayers (Deputy: October 2005 – February 2007) (Acting architect: February 2, 2007 – May 11, 2010) | Michael G. Turnbull (June 1998 – August 2021) | Clinton | The first architect of the Capitol appointed under the legislation passed in 1989 providing for a fixed, renewable ten-year term for the architects of the Capitol. On August 1, 2006, Hantman announced he would not seek a second term when his term expired in 2007. | ||||
| 11 | nowrap | Stephen T. Ayers | May 12, 2010 – November 23, 2018 | Christine A. Merdon (Deputy: 2011 – November 23, 2018) (Acting architect: November 24, 2018 – 2020) | Obama | Ayers was appointed acting architect of the Capitol from February 2007 – May 2010, and unanimously confirmed as Architect of the Capitol May 12, 2010. | ||||||
| 12 | nowrap | Brett Blanton | January 16, 2020 – February 13, 2023 | data-sort-value="9999" | Trump | Terminated by President Joe Biden following an inspector general's report found that he engaged in "administrative, ethical and policy violations"[9] | ||||||
| 13 | nowrap | Thomas Austin | June 24, 2024 – present | data-sort-value="9999" | data-sort-value="9999" | data-sort-value="9999" | First architect appointed by congressional commission after changes passed in the 2024 NDAA.[10] |