Justices Urged to Reject Trump Motion to Re-Fire Copyright Chief

Shira Perlmutter asked the US Supreme Court to reject President Donald Trump’s bid to nullify her temporary reinstatement as Register of Copyrights.

The administration likely won’t succeed in reviving the illegal removal of Perlmutter from her position because Trump lacked statutory authority to fire her in the first place, she argued against the request for a stay.

A stay blocking her reinstatement is not in the public interest, she said, while the administration wouldn’t suffer from the halt on its “lawless” action, she said. She noted its application for a stay came a month and a half after the decision was issued, undermining any purported irreparable harm.

The filing aims to preserve Perlmutter’s victory before a split D.C. Circuit Court appeals panel, which found her firing “likely unlawful” and restored her post pending the full appeal. The case heads to a conservative-dominated Supreme Court after party-aligned decisions in the lower courts. Two Biden appointees sided with Perlmutter at the D.C. Circuit. A Trump appointee dissented, backing with Trump-appointed District Judge Timothy J. Kelly’s refusal to grant a preliminary injunction.

Trump fired Perlmutter from her post on May 10, two days after dismissing her superior, Librarian of Congress Carla Hayden. Perlmutter’s latest filing to the high court reprises arguments made since her May 22 lawsuit.

She characterized her firing and the appointment as librarian of Todd Blanche, Trump’s former defense attorney and current Justice Department official, as a “sweeping” and illegal power-grab. Perlmutter argued only a Senate-confirmed librarian has statutory authority to hire and fire the register of copyrights. But the administration argued the Federal Vacancies Reform Act and the US Constitution authorize Trump’s actions over a Library with substantial executive functions, led by a presidential appointee.

Kelly rejected Perlmutter’s theory that harm to the institution constituted harm to Perlmutter three separate times. He also suggested her case to be wrong on the merits given the Copyright Office’s executive functions.

But the D.C. Circuit majority said Kelly failed to adequately consider that Perlmutter alleged she was fired in retaliation for advice she provided Congress the day before in a report on AI and copyrights. The majority also said the Library of Congress is not an executive agency under the FVRA.

Democracy Forward Foundation and Munger, Tolles & Olson LLP represent Perlmutter. The Justice Department represents Trump and other defendants.

The case is Blanche v. Perlmutter, U.S., No. 25A478, Response 11/10/25.