Trump administration asks the Supreme Court to allow it to fire head of US Copyright Office

By MARK SHERMAN Associated Press WASHINGTON AP The Trump administration on Monday requested the Supreme Court to allow it to fire the director of the U S Copyright Office The administration s newest urgency appeal to the high court was filed a month and a half after a federal appeals court in Washington held that the official Shira Perlmutter could not be unilaterally fired Nearly four weeks ago the full U S Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit refused to reconsider that ruling The occurrence is the latest that relates to Trump s authority to install his own people at the head of federal agencies The Supreme Court has largely allowed Trump to fire personnel even as court challenges proceed Related Articles Trump wants to cancel more funding during the shutdown Courts have hampered his earlier efforts Indiana s governor calls a special session to redraw the state s congressional boundaries Republicans grapple with voter frustration over rising wellbeing care premiums Biden warns of dark days for the country as he urges Americans to stay optimistic For Japan s new leader the key to connecting with Trump could be a Ford F- truck But this episode concerns an office that is within the Library of Congress Perlmutter is the register of copyrights and also advises Congress on copyright issues Solicitor General D John Sauer wrote in his filing Monday that despite the ties to Congress the register wields executive power in regulating copyrights Perlmutter indicates Trump fired her in May because he disapproved of advice she gave to Congress in a statement related to artificial intelligence Perlmutter had received an email from the White House notifying her that your position as the Register of Copyrights and Director at the U S Copyright Office is terminated effective promptly her office announced A divided appellate panel ruled that Perlmutter could keep her job while the event moves forward The Executive s alleged blatant interference with the work of a Legislative Branch official as she performs statutorily authorized duties to advise Congress strikes us as a violation of the separation of powers that is significantly different in kind and in degree from the cases that have come before Judge Florence Pan wrote for the appeals court Judge Michelle Childs joined the opinion Democratic President Joe Biden appointed both judges to the appeals court Judge Justin Walker a Trump appointee wrote in dissent that Perlmutter exercises executive power in a host of techniques Perlmutter s attorneys have argued that she is a renowned copyright expert She has served as register of copyrights since then-Librarian of Congress Carla Hayden appointed her to the job in October Trump appointed Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche to replace Hayden at the Library of Congress The White House fired Hayden amid criticism from conservatives that she was advancing a woke agenda