Justice Department's Todd Blanche appointed acting Librarian of Congress

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24. No doubt, But my post wasn't directed at Trump or Doge

It was for the folks who have been posting that the president has nothing to do with the Library of Congress. In fact, the DC Circuit has held that the Librarian is a "Head of Department" within the Executive Branch. See MEDICAL IMAGING & TECHNOLOGY ALLIANCE et al v. LIBRARY OF CONGRESS et al, No. 1:2022cv00499, citing Intercollegiate Broad. Sys., Inc. v. Copyright Royalty Bd., 684 F.3d 1332, 1342(D.C. Cir.2012).

The argument could be made that while the appointment of the Librarian is a presidential power, subject to Senate confirmation, the president can't fire the Librarian without cause because by statute, the Librarian serves a ten year term. However, there is court precedent that supports the conclusion that a president can fire an appointee before the end of the appointee's statutory term.

So, it could end up being that Trump can fire the Librarian and, possibly, appoint an acting Librarian just as a president can name an "acting" replacement for other presidential appointees. If so, then the acting librarian probably can fire the deputy librarian and the register of copyrights and name their replacements.

The only thing that is clear is that the president can't name the register of copyrights -- by law, that authority is vested in the Librarian of Congress.