Judge refuses to temporarily block the Trump administration from removing Copyright Office director
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, file)
WASHINGTON (AP) — A federal judge refused Wednesday to temporarily block the Trump administration from removing and replacing the director of the U.S. Copyright Office.
U.S. District Judge Timothy Kelly ruled from the bench that the office director, Shira Perlmutter, hasn’t met her legal burden to show how removing her from the position would cause her to suffer irreparable harm.
Kelly’s refusal to issue a temporary restraining order isn’t the final word in the lawsuit that Perlmutter filed last week. If Perlmutter decides to seek a preliminary injunction, the judge is giving her attorneys and government lawyers until Thursday afternoon to present him with a proposed schedule for arguing and deciding the matter.
Perlmutter’s attorneys say she is a renowned copyright expert who also has served as Register of Copyrights since the former Librarian of Congress, Carla Hayden, appointed her to the job in October 2020.
Earlier this month, Trump appointed Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche to replace Hayden as Librarian of Congress. The White House fired Hayden amid criticism from conservatives that she was advancing a “woke” agenda.
Perlmutter’s position is considered part of the legislative branch of government. The U.S. Copyright Office is housed within the Library of Congress, and its director is chosen by the Librarian of Congress, who is also a legislative branch employee but nominated by the president and subject to Senate confirmation.
Perlmutter’s lawyers argued that the president doesn’t have the authority to unilaterally remove the Register of Copyrights or appoint an acting Librarian of Congress.
The Supreme Court sided with Trump in two other high-profile firings last week, when the conservative majority cleared the way for him to fire two independent board members. The firings left both agencies without enough board members to take final actions.
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Associated Press writers Lindsay Whitehurst and Seung Min Kim contributed to this report.