A question long simmering between the branches of government has returned to the nation's highest court: whether a president may dismiss an official whose office sits inside Congress's own house. The Trump administration has asked the Supreme Court to allow it to remove Shira Perlmutter, the Register of Copyrights, after lower courts kept her in place. Her case rests on a quiet but consequential detail, that the Copyright Office belongs to the Library of Congress and advises the legislature, and the justices will now decide whether that legislative tie shields her from the executive's reach.
Trump Administration Asks Supreme Court to Let It Fire Copyright Office Director Shira Perlmutter
The Supreme Court has largely allowed Trump to remove officials during challenges.
Mark
Why is this case different from the other firings the Supreme Court has allowed?
Mimi
Because of where the office sits. The Copyright Office is inside the Library of Congress, and the register advises Congress. The appeals court majority said firing her interfered with a legislative branch official doing her statutory job.
Luke
But the administration argues the register wields executive power in regulating copyrights. That's the Solicitor General's claim, and the dissent by Judge Walker echoes it. It's contested, not settled.
Mark
What does Perlmutter say led to her firing?
Mimi
She says it was retaliation for advice she gave Congress in an AI-related report. The email from the White House said her position was terminated effective immediately.
Luke
Worth noting that's her claim. The source doesn't show the administration confirming that motive, so we can't say why she was fired.
Mark
And the Library of Congress leadership changed too?
Mimi
Yes. Carla Hayden, who appointed Perlmutter in October 2020, was fired, and Todd Blanche was named to replace her.
Luke
What we don't know is when the Supreme Court will act or which way it leans. Its pattern of allowing firings is a pattern, not a prediction for an office tied to Congress.
El Pulso
- The administration has gone back to the Supreme Court on an emergency footing, pressing for a fast decision to remove Shira Perlmutter from office.
- A divided D.C. Circuit panel kept Perlmutter in her post, and the full court's refusal to rehear the case left the White House with one remaining path.
- Perlmutter says she was dismissed after the president objected to her advice to Congress on artificial intelligence, a firing that has drawn the dispute into open conflict.
- The Solicitor General insists the register wields executive power, while the appeals majority calls the interference a separation-of-powers violation of a different kind.
- The justices now hold the outcome, and their ruling could define how far presidential removal power extends into offices tied to Congress.
A question long simmering between the branches of government has returned to the nation's highest court: whether a president may dismiss an official whose office sits inside Congress's own house. The Trump administration has asked the Supreme Court to allow it to remove Shira Perlmutter, the Register of Copyrights, after lower courts kept her in place. Her case rests on a quiet but consequential detail, that the Copyright Office belongs to the Library of Congress and advises the legislature, and the justices will now decide whether that legislative tie shields her from the executive's reach.
On Monday, the Trump administration returned to the Supreme Court with an emergency appeal, asking the justices to let it fire Shira Perlmutter, the director of the U.S. Copyright Office. The request followed a federal appeals court ruling in Washington that she could not be removed unilaterally.
A divided panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit allowed Perlmutter to keep her job while the case proceeds. The full court then declined to reconsider, leaving the Supreme Court as the administration's last avenue.
Perlmutter says she was fired in May because the president disapproved of advice she gave Congress in a report on artificial intelligence. She has been register of copyrights since 2020, when then-Librarian of Congress Carla Hayden appointed her, and her attorneys describe her as a renowned copyright expert. Hayden was herself later fired, and Trump named Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche to lead the Library of Congress.
The Supreme Court has generally let Trump remove officials while challenges continue, but this case is different because the Copyright Office sits within the legislative branch. Solicitor General D. John Sauer argued that the register wields executive power, while the appeals majority, including two Biden appointees, saw the interference as a distinct separation-of-powers violation. Judge Justin Walker dissented, writing that Perlmutter exercises executive power in many ways.
The justices will decide whether she stays in her post while litigation continues, and their answer may clarify how far presidential power reaches over officials whose offices sit within Congress.
On Monday, the Trump administration went back to the Supreme Court with an emergency appeal, asking the justices to let it fire Shira Perlmutter, the director of the U.S. Copyright Office. The filing came about a month and a half after a federal appeals court in Washington ruled that she could not be removed unilaterally.
The path to the Supreme Court ran through the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit. A divided panel of that court held that Perlmutter could keep her job while the case moves forward. Nearly four weeks ago, the full court declined to reconsider the panel's ruling, leaving the administration with the Supreme Court as its remaining avenue.
Perlmutter says she was fired in May because President Trump disapproved of advice she gave Congress in a report related to artificial intelligence. Her office said she received an email from the White House stating that her position as Register of Copyrights and Director of the U.S. Copyright Office was terminated effective immediately.
The case belongs to a larger fight over how far Trump can go in installing his own people at the head of federal agencies. The Supreme Court has largely allowed him to remove officials even while court challenges continue. This case differs in one respect: the Copyright Office sits within the Library of Congress, and the register of copyrights also advises Congress on copyright matters.
Solicitor General D. John Sauer addressed that point directly in Monday's filing. Despite the office's ties to Congress, he wrote, the register "wields executive power" in regulating copyrights.
The appeals court majority saw it differently. Judge Florence Pan, joined by Judge Michelle Childs, wrote that the alleged interference by the executive with a legislative branch official performing statutorily authorized duties to advise Congress struck them as a separation-of-powers violation "significantly different in kind and in degree" from earlier cases. Both judges were appointed by President Joe Biden. Judge Justin Walker, a Trump appointee, dissented, writing that Perlmutter "exercises executive power in a host of ways."
Perlmutter's attorneys describe her as a renowned copyright expert. She has been register of copyrights since October 2020, when then-Librarian of Congress Carla Hayden appointed her. Hayden herself is gone: the White House fired her amid conservative criticism that she was advancing a "woke" agenda. Trump named Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche to replace Hayden at the Library of Congress.
The justices will now decide whether Perlmutter stays in her post while litigation continues. Their answer could clarify how far presidential removal power reaches over officials whose offices sit within the legislative branch.
Citas Notables
The register "wields executive power" in regulating copyrights.— Solicitor General D. John Sauer, in Monday's filing
Perlmutter "exercises executive power in a host of ways."— Judge Justin Walker, dissenting
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