Federal judge sides against copyright leader who claimed Trump was wrong to fire her

President Donald Trump scored a legal win on Wednesday when a federal judge declined to grant an emergency request for reinstatement as the fired head of the U.S. Copyright Office.

U.S. District Judge Timothy Kelly ruled that Shira Perlmutter failed to meet the legal burden of showing she would suffer irreparable harm if not immediately reinstated, according to the Associated Press.

In a lawsuit against the Trump administration, Perlmutter argued that neither the president nor his subordinates had the authority to fire her, as her position falls under the Library of Congress. Trump fired Carla Hayden, the Librarian of Congress and the person who appointed Perlmutter back in 2020. Perlmutter claims in the suit that only the Librarian of Congress can hire or fire the head of the U.S. Copyright Office.

Shira Perlmutter, Register of Copyrights and Director of the U.S. Copyright Office, testifies during a Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on Intellectual Property oversight hearing of the United States Copyright Office, Nov. 13, 2024, on Capitol Hill in Washington.  (AP Photo/Mariam Zuhaib)

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Trump appointed U.S. Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche as acting Librarian of Congress earlier this month after removing Hayden over allegations that she had pushed DEI initiatives. However, Perlmutter and her attorneys claim that the president lacks the authority to appoint a Librarian of Congress, as the position is under the legislative branch, not the executive. 

President Donald Trump departs the White House on May 22, 2025, in Washington, D.C.  (Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images)

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Lawyers representing Blanche made the opposite argument in a court filing.

“The President had the power to remove the Librarian and designate an acting replacement. The Library of Congress is not an autonomous organization free from political supervision,” the filing read. “It is part of the Executive Branch and is subject to presidential control…”

Trump is facing resistance from within his own party over the move, according to Politico. The outlet reported that House Speaker Mike Johnson and Senate Majority Leader John Thune have privately questioned the president’s actions toward the Library of Congress, citing three individuals granted anonymity. Johnson and Thune have reportedly expressed skepticism over Trump’s authority to name Library officials.

The Library of Congress Thomas Jefferson Building is on First Street SE in Washington, D.C. (Robert Alexander/Getty Images)

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Rep. Joe Morelle (D-N.Y.) has been a vocal opponent, rejecting Perlmutter’s firing in a statement.

“Donald Trump’s termination of Register of Copyrights, Shira Perlmutter, is a brazen, unprecedented power grab with no legal basis. It is surely no coincidence he acted less than a day after she refused to rubber-stamp Elon Musk’s efforts to mine troves of copyrighted works to train AI models,” Morelle said in a statement.

While Perlmutter’s emergency request was denied, her lawsuit is still ongoing. According to Politico, Kelly indicated that he would hear arguments in the coming weeks.