Fix the Court’s Gabe Roth issued this statement following today’s N.Y. Times story describing the conflicts inherent in Chief Justice Roberts’ statutory position on the Smithsonian Institution’s Board of Regents:

“It’s no secret that everything President Trump touches becomes exceedingly partisan — and often finds itself tied up in a federal lawsuit. The Smithsonian is no different, which means America’s top judicial official should not be serving on its board.

“Whether it’s the Institution’s personnel decisions, a politically tinged painting that one its museums opts to display or not, or some dust-up to come related to the Zoo’s role in foreign policy, there are myriad ways in which the world’s largest museum may be impacted by directives issued by the Trump administration.

“This is not the Chief Justice’s fault, of course, but it impacts his ability to do the job of chancellor and maintain an air of political neutrality. That’s why Congress should pass a law swapping out the Chief Justice with someone less likely to one day be a literal arbiter of taste and culture.”

Additional information: 
As Fix the Court has long said, part of the reason we have a Supreme Court is to ensure, to the extent possible, that its justices are free from entanglements that will compel recusals and leave the bench shorthanded. That’s why we think the justices shouldn’t accept gifts, why they should report all the significant sources of their spouses’ compensation, and why we want Justice Alito to sell his copious amounts of stock.

The Chief Justice is batting two of three (yes; yes; no) on recusals from Smithsonian-involved cases during his tenure — the one error was in a case where SI waived the right to respond, so it’s somewhat excusable — and we assume he’d step aside in future petitions, leaving the possibility of a 4-4 tie. We’d like to avoid that.

The problem with Roberts’ service butting up against the “appearance of impropriety” standard — something SCOTUS also cares about, purportedly — is even more acute, as the administration has not been shy about battling the Institution over museum displays that, in their minds, somehow show an anti-conservative bias or otherwise denigrate the country.

Earlier this summer, following the release of a statement by the Smithsonian on personnel decisions, FTC asked staff of a House Democrat and a Senate Republican that they take up this call to amend federal law and remove the Chief Justice from his board position.

In his place, we’d like to see either a 10th citizen member or a rotating member of the Judicial Conference, such as the chair of the Conference’s Executive Committee — currently Sixth Circuit Chief Judge Jeff Sutton, who, like Smithsonian Regent J.D. Vance, is a conservative from Ohio.

The two demurred, but FTC will renew it in a letter to the chairs and ranking members of House and Senate Judiciary Committees later in the week.