The U.S. Supreme Court declined to immediately permit President Donald Trump to fire Register of Copyrights Shira Perlmutter from her post inside the Library of Congress.

Earlier this year, Trump removed Carla Hayden, the Librarian of Congress appointed by President Joe Biden, and replaced her with his former personal attorney, Todd Blanche. Blanche then tried to remove Perlmutter, who reports to the Librarian of Congress.

A federal appeals court ruled that Blanche could not fire the Register of Copyrights without input from Congress because the Librarian of Congress and the Register of Copyrights were "legislative officers."

In October, the Trump administration asked the Supreme Court to uphold Perlmutter's removal.

The high court delayed action on the case in a Monday decision pending the outcome of two other cases on the president's authority to fire officials.

However, Justice Clarence Thomas argued that Trump should be allowed to remove Perlmutter immediately.

NEW: The Supreme Court *delays action* on Trump's request to fire Shia Perlmutter, the register of copyrights at the Library of Congress, pending the court's decision in two upcoming cases about the president's authority to fire federal officials. Thomas would let Trump fire Perlmutter now.

[image or embed]
— Mark Joseph Stern (@mjsdc.bsky.social) November 26, 2025 at 12:01 PM