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The former president's government on Monday petitioned the US Supreme Court to allow the removal of the head of the US Copyright Office.

This emergency request comes roughly a month and a half after a national appeals court in Washington decided that the director, Shira Perlmutter, could not be solely fired.

Nearly one month prior, the entire District of Columbia circuit court refused to reconsider that decision.

This case is the most recent in a line of disputes concerning executive authority to place chosen leaders at government agencies.

The High Court has generally allowed such actions, even as court challenges proceed.

However, this particular case involves an bureau inside the national library. Perlmutter acts as the copyright registrar and also counsels the legislature on intellectual property issues.

The government's top lawyer, D John Sauer, stated in the legal document that, regardless of connections to the legislative branch, the register “exercises administrative power” in overseeing copyrights.

Perlmutter alleges she was terminated in May because the ex-leader disagreed with recommendations she provided to Congress in a document related to AI.

She reportedly got an email from the White House informing her that her role was “terminated starting immediately,” according to her office.

A split appeals court group ruled that Perlmutter could retain her job while the legal dispute moves forward.

“The administration's alleged obvious interference with the work of a Legislative Branch officer, as she carries out statutorily authorized duties to counsel Congress, strikes us as a violation of the division of government authority,” wrote Judge Florence Pan for the appellate panel.

Judge J Michelle Childs supported the ruling. Both justices were nominated to the appellate court by Democratic leader Joe Biden.

In dissent, Justice Justin Walker, a former president's nominee, wrote that Perlmutter “uses executive power in a host of ways.”

Perlmutter's lawyers have contended that she is a well-known copyright expert. She has acted as register of copyrights since former librarian of Congress Carla Hayden selected her to the position in October 2020.

The former president appointed assistant attorney general Todd Blanche to succeed Hayden at the national library. The administration had fired Hayden following criticism from conservatives that she was advancing a “woke” agenda.