(a) The Archivist of the United States shall be appointed by the President by and with the advice and consent of the Senate. The Archivist shall be appointed without regard to political affiliations and solely on the basis of the professional qualifications required to perform the duties and responsibilities of the office of Archivist. The Archivist may be removed from office by the President. The President shall communicate the reasons for any such removal to each House of the Congress.

(b) The Archivist shall be compensated at the rate provided for level III of the Executive Schedule under section 5314 of title 5.

(c) There shall be in the Administration a Deputy Archivist of the United States, who shall be appointed by and who shall serve at the pleasure of the Archivist. The Deputy Archivist shall be established as a career reserved position in the Senior Executive Service within the meaning of section 3132(a)(8) of title 5. The Deputy Archivist shall perform such functions as the Archivist shall designate. During any absence or disability of the Archivist, the Deputy Archivist shall act as Archivist. In the event of a vacancy in the office of the Archivist, the Deputy Archivist shall act as Archivist until an Archivist is appointed under subsection (a).