Judge denies Copyright Office chief's reinstatement request after Trump administration firing

A federal judge has ruled against an emergency request for reinstatement by the former U.S. Copyright Office chief in her lawsuit over her firing.

U.S. District Judge Timothy Kelly for the District of Columbia on Wednesday ruled that Shira Perlmutter, the former head of the Copyright Office, which is under the Library of Congress, failed to meet the legal burden to show that she would suffer irreparable harm if she was not immediately reinstated, Fox News reported.

Last week, after being fired earlier this month by the White House, Perlmutter filed a lawsuit arguing that only the librarian of Congress could fire her. However, the librarian, Carla Hayden, was fired by the Trump administration days before Perlmutter was.

Perlmutter was hired for the Copyright Office post in October 2020 by Hayden.

“Congress vested the Librarian of Congress—not the President—with the power to appoint, and therefore to remove, the Register of Copyrights,” according to the lawsuit. “Accordingly, the President’s attempt to remove Ms. Perlmutter was unlawful and ineffective.”