The Library of Congress standoff began on May 8, 2025, when President Trump fired Librarian of Congress Carla Hayden by email, followed two days later by the firing of Register of Copyrights Shira Perlmutter and an attempt to install Justice Department officials to run both agencies. Library staff refused to hand over control, Congress pushed back on a bipartisan basis, and in September 2025 a federal appeals court blocked the takeover of the Copyright Office. The core dispute — whether a President can fire and replace officers of a legislative branch agency — remains unresolved.
What Set Off the Standoff
Hayden, the 14th Librarian of Congress and the first woman and first African American to hold the post, was fired in a two-sentence email from White House Deputy Director of Presidential Personnel Trent Morse on the evening of May 8, 2025. The next day, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said “we felt she did not fit the needs of the American people,” citing concerns about diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives and what the administration called “inappropriate books” for children.1Library Journal. Librarian of Congress Carla Hayden Fired Hayden had been confirmed by the Senate in 2016 to a 10-year term. She did not sue.2Politico. Shira Perlmutter Library of Congress Ruling
One day after Hayden’s firing, the U.S. Copyright Office released the third part of its study on artificial intelligence and copyright. The report concluded that AI training on copyrighted works is “not categorically fair use” and that commercial use of copyrighted material to produce competing content “goes beyond established fair use boundaries.”3Authors Guild. US Copyright Office AI Report Part 3: What Authors Should Know The findings ran against the administration’s pro-AI-development posture.4Epstein Becker Green. Unpacking Copyright Office’s AI Report Amid Admin Shakeups
On May 10, 2025, Perlmutter, Register of Copyrights since 2020, was fired by email. The administration gave no public reason. Representative Joe Morelle, the ranking Democrat on the House Administration Committee, said the firing came less than a day after Perlmutter “refused to rubber-stamp Elon Musk’s efforts to mine troves of copyrighted works to train AI models,” and called it “a brazen, unprecedented power grab with no legal basis” that “tramples on Congress’s Article One authority.”5Democrats – Committee on House Administration. Morelle’s Statement on Abrupt Firing of Shira Perlmutter, Register of Copyrights
The Attempted Takeover at the Library
After Hayden’s removal, Robert Randolph Newlen, a 46-year Library veteran named Principal Deputy Librarian effective March 29, 2025, stepped in as acting Librarian under the Library’s internal succession rules.6Publishers Weekly. U.S. Executive and Legislative Branches Battle at the LOC On May 12, 2025, the White House designated Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche as acting head of the Library, with two Justice Department colleagues named to other top posts.7Roll Call. Trump DOJ Todd Blanche Acting Library of Congress
That morning, Brian Nieves, Blanche’s DOJ chief of staff and the designated acting deputy librarian, and Paul Perkins, an associate deputy attorney general designated as acting Register of Copyrights, arrived at the Copyright Office in Washington. They presented a letter announcing the appointments and a separate email outlining their roles, were not allowed into offices, and left the premises later that morning.8CNN. Library of Congress Trump Justice Blanche Reports indicated Capitol Police were contacted, though a Capitol Police spokesperson denied officers had denied anyone entry or escorted anyone off.9Wired. US Copyright Office Trump Takeover
Newlen refused to step aside. In two emails to Library staff that day, he told employees he remained acting Librarian, that the Library had received no direction from Congress on how to proceed, and that they should continue their work.6Publishers Weekly. U.S. Executive and Legislative Branches Battle at the LOC With what Politico described as the “tacit backing” of congressional leadership, Library officials effectively blocked the administration’s designees from taking control.10Politico. Library of Congress Trump Takeover
Why the Legal Question Is Hard
Federal law says the Librarian of Congress is appointed by the President with Senate confirmation for a 10-year term, but the statute is silent on removal.11Cornell Law Institute. 2 U.S. Code § 136-1 – Appointment and Term of Service of Librarian of Congress That silence can be read either way: a fixed term may imply protection from at-will removal, or the absence of explicit protection may leave the door open.
The White House argued the President could not only fire the Librarian but also install a replacement under the Federal Vacancies Reform Act, a 1998 law designed to fill temporary vacancies in the executive branch. Opponents in Congress countered that the Library of Congress is not an executive agency and the Vacancies Act does not reach it.10Politico. Library of Congress Trump Takeover
The Register of Copyrights sits on firmer statutory ground. Federal law vests the power to appoint and remove the Register in the Librarian of Congress, not the President. That became the basis for Perlmutter’s lawsuit.
The Court Ruling That Mattered
On May 22, 2025, Perlmutter sued in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, arguing her removal was “unlawful and ineffective” because only the Librarian can fire the Register, and that Blanche’s appointment as acting Librarian was itself invalid because the Vacancies Act does not apply to a legislative branch agency.12NPR. Register of Copyrights Lawsuit Trump Judge Timothy J. Kelly denied her requests for emergency relief, first a temporary restraining order on May 28 and then a preliminary injunction on July 30, 2025.13Justia. Perlmutter v. Blanche, No. 1:2025cv01659
Perlmutter appealed. On September 10, 2025, a three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit ruled 2-1 in her favor and issued an injunction barring the administration from interfering with her service as Register while the case proceeds.14Roll Call. Appeals Court Halts Firing of Copyright Office Head Shira Perlmutter Judge Florence Pan, joined by Judge J. Michelle Childs, framed the case as involving a “grave intrusion by the President into the constitutional powers of a coordinate branch of government.” Pan wrote that the Register is a legislative branch official whose primary role is to advise Congress, and that firing her for advice she provided in that capacity “is akin to the President trying to fire a federal judge’s law clerk.”15U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit. Perlmutter v. Blanche, No. 25-5285
The majority also found Blanche’s appointment as acting Librarian was likely unlawful because the Vacancies Act reaches only executive agencies. Because Blanche’s appointment was invalid, the court reasoned, his subsequent appointment of Perkins as Register was likely void as well. Judge Justin Walker dissented, writing that the Register exercises executive power through rulemaking and adjudication, and that recent Supreme Court precedent allowing removal of an NLRB member supported the President’s authority here.15U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit. Perlmutter v. Blanche, No. 25-5285
In late October 2025, the administration asked the Supreme Court to stay the injunction, arguing the panel majority had wrongly classified the Librarian and Register as legislative officers.16Supreme Court of the United States. Blanche v. Perlmutter, Application No. 25A478
How Congress Reacted
The standoff produced bipartisan pushback. Republican leaders did not publicly condemn the President, but they worked quietly to keep his appointees from gaining control. Senate Majority Leader John Thune confirmed Blanche’s team had met with Senate Rules and Administration Committee staff and said “consultations” were ongoing. Speaker Mike Johnson acknowledged the President’s authority to remove the Librarian but added, “We want to make sure all the… everything’s followed correctly.”10Politico. Library of Congress Trump Takeover
Democrats spoke more sharply. House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries called the Hayden firing “executive overreach” and said, “It’s the Library of Congress, not the library of the executive branch.”17Senator Alex Padilla. Washington Post: In Rare Move, Congress Pushes Back on Trump Over Library of Congress Senator Chris Van Hollen of Maryland called the takeover attempt “obviously a violation of separation of powers.” Senator Richard Blumenthal of Connecticut called it “like a thumb in the eye to Congress.” Republican Senator Mike Rounds of South Dakota also questioned the White House, saying, “If they are congressional employees… then they belong to Congress and not to the executive branch.”10Politico. Library of Congress Trump Takeover
On May 12, 2025, Morelle and five other House Democrats asked Library of Congress Inspector General Kimberly Benoit to investigate. They raised concerns that the executive branch may have made improper requests for confidential legislative branch data, including Congressional Research Service communications with congressional offices, and may have attempted to orchestrate unauthorized transfers of congressional files, implicating the Speech or Debate Clause.18Democrats – Committee on House Administration. Ranking Member Morelle Leads Request to Library of Congress Inspector General19Federation of American Scientists. Understanding the Speech or Debate Clause
The Bill That Would Change Who Picks the Librarian
In November 2025, Representative Morgan Griffith of Virginia introduced the Legislative Branch Agencies Clarification Act (H.R. 6028). The bill would transfer appointment authority for the Librarian of Congress from the President to a bipartisan congressional commission, with removal requiring a majority vote of the majority and minority leaders of both chambers. The same bill would sever the Copyright Office from the Library of Congress and place the Register of Copyrights under direct presidential appointment with Senate confirmation.20Authors Alliance. What Is Happening With the Register of Copyrights
The House passed the bill by voice vote on June 8, 2026, sending it to the Senate. A coalition of technology, library, and public interest groups, including the American Library Association and the Electronic Frontier Foundation, opposed the Copyright Office provision, raising concerns about politicizing copyright and AI governance.21Roll Call. House Librarian of Congress Appointment Power
Where Things Stand
As of early 2026, Newlen continues to serve as acting Librarian of Congress.22Library of Congress. About the Librarian No new permanent Librarian has been nominated or confirmed. The D.C. Circuit’s injunction keeps Perlmutter in place as Register of Copyrights while the underlying challenge proceeds, and the administration’s application to the Supreme Court remains pending. The larger constitutional question — where executive authority ends and legislative independence begins at an agency created by Congress — has not been settled.