ERA Ratification Fight Makes Ho-Hum Archivist Job a Hot Seat (1)

Controversy tied to the Equal Rights Amendment looms over the retirement of a little-known federal agency head, U.S. Archivist David Ferriero, whose decision not to publish it as part of the Constitution prompted litigation that will outlast his tenure.

His successor would inherit the dispute over the amendment—assuming it isn’t soon resolved in Congress or the courts—and likely after running the gauntlet of an unusually politicized Senate confirmation.

The job of archivist, head of the National Archives and Records Administration, is traditionally a non-political job for which presidents have consistently chosen librarians and history professors since the position was ...