Copyright Office head asks Supreme Court to keep her in role

Michael Macagnone, CQ-Roll Call on Nov 10, 2025

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WASHINGTON — The register of copyrights at the Library of Congress defended a lower court ruling that kept her in office despite President Donald Trump’s attempts to fire her in a legal filing Monday urging the Supreme Court to allow her to remain in office.

The filing on behalf of Shira Perlmutter argued that Trump cannot lawfully remove someone who is effectively an employee of the legislative branch, especially over policy disagreements over artificial intelligence issues. Last month Trump asked the Supreme Court to allow him to remove her from office after a panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit reinstated her.

Perlmutter’s Monday filing criticized the Trump administration, saying that “in response to lawless executive action, Applicants are asking the Court to exercise its equitable authority to grant extraordinary relief that would upend the status quo and defy Congress’s well-expressed intent.”

The case started in May after Trump fired Librarian of Congress Carla Hayden. After firing Hayden, Trump used a federal law to purport to install Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche as acting head of the Library of Congress.

Federal law allows Trump to nominate the head of the Library of Congress, subject to Senate confirmation. The librarian then appoints the register of copyrights, who records federal copyrights and advises Congress on intellectual property law.

After Trump officials fired Perlmutter, she sued to challenge her removal. A lower court judge initially denied her efforts to be reinstated. In September, a three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit in a 2-1 decision denied a Trump request to keep Perlmutter fired while the case played out.

Trump then asked the Supreme Court to weigh in on the case, arguing that Perlmutter is like the dozens of executive branch officials he has purged, and that he should be able to fire her. Calling the ties the position had to Congress a “misnomer,” the Trump administration argued the president should be able to remove Perlmutter at will.

“The Librarian and Register exercise powers that this Court has repeatedly classified as executive, such as the power to issue rules implementing a federal statute, to issue orders in administrative adjudications, and even to conduct foreign relations relating to copyright issues,” the application said.

The response from Perlmutter argued that Trump did not have the authority to appoint Blanche as acting librarian, as the statute for vacancy appointments does not include the Library of Congress.

Trump also did not have the authority to remove Perlmutter directly, the response said, as the Constitution gives Congress the power to designate who can remove officials. The law designates the head of the library as the person with the power to remove the register, and no one else, the response said.

Allowing Trump to fire Perlmutter would “improperly dilute Congress’s role” in deciding who can appoint and remove executive officials, and “usurp the appointment power Congress vested elsewhere.”

The Trump administration may file a reply to Perlmutter’s argument as soon as later this week.

The justices have agreed to hear one of the cases about Trump’s firing of federal officials, over the removal of Federal Trade Commission member Rebecca Slaughter.

The case concerning Monday’s filing is Todd Blanche, in his capacity as the person claiming to be acting librarian of Congress, et al. v. Shira Perlmutter, register of copyrights and director of the U.S. Copyright Office.

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