Donald Trump doesn’t even know what National Portrait Gallery Director Kim Sajet exactly did wrong. According to The Washington Post, when he announced her firing on his social media platform, he said he made the decision “Upon the request and recommendation of many people.” I’ll take a wild guess that those “many people” are his white nationalist co-presidents Stephen Miller and immigrant Elon Musk.
Without citing a shred of evidence, Trump called Sajet “a highly partisan person, and a strong supporter of DEI, which is totally inappropriate for her position. Her replacement will be named shortly.” I’ll bet that some DOGE Bro Thought Police appointee found via AI that Sajet used the words “diversity,” “equity” and/or “inclusion” and, regardless of the context, decided that was grounds for firing.
Hours later, the Smithsonian staff received the details of a proposed 12 percent cut to the Smithsonian’s budget and no funding at all for its Anacostia Community Museum and its forthcoming National Museum of the American Latino, The Post said.
There’s one big fly in this MAGA ointment: Trump doesn’t seem to have the authority to fire Sajet. The Post’s article said it is “unclear” if Trump has the authority. But that seems a sop to Jeff Bezos because the article strongly suggests Trump doesn’t have that authority:
It is unclear if the president has authority to dismiss Sajet. The Smithsonian’s programming is not under the purview of the executive branch, and personnel decisions for senior-level Smithsonian museum positions are made by [Smithsonian Secretary Lonnie G. Bunch III]. Neither the museum, the institution nor the White House immediately responded to a request for comment.
Thomas Berry, the director of the Cato Institute’s center for constitutional studies, said presidents have the authority to hire and fire top officials in the executive branch who then have the powers to make their own hiring and firing decisions, with the understanding that they could lose their jobs if the president is not satisfied with their decisions.
“The shorthand for this that is often used as a good rule of thumb is that the power to fire goes to whoever has the power to appoint,” Berry said. In the National Portrait Gallery’s case, top personnel decisions are made by the Smithsonian’s secretary, who is appointed by the board of regents.
Jonathan L. Fischer, The Post’s Arts & Entertainment editor, stated on Blue Sky, “the job of hiring and firing Smithsonian leaders is not [Trump’s].”
And guess who is on that Smithsonian board of regents? Chief Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court, John Roberts.
