Donald Trump has vowed to reshape Washington, DC, which he views as a haven for an elite group. This was underscored again on Sunday with the dismissal of the top U.S. copyright official.
Shira Perlmutter was let go shortly after a change in leadership at the Library of Congress, which manages the U.S. Copyright Office.
Her office indicated that Perlmutter received an email from the White House indicating that she was to “immediately end your position as register of copyright and director of the U.S. Copyright Office.”
On Thursday, President Trump also fired Carla Hayden, the first woman to serve as Congressional librarian.
Hayden was appointed by President Obama in 2016, and her renewable 10-year term was approaching its expiration next year.
She was notable not only for being the first woman but also the first African American in the role as librarian of Congress.
Hayden appointed Perlmutter to lead the Copyright Office in October 2020.
Recently, Perlmutter’s office released a report analyzing whether AI companies can utilize copyrighted materials to train their systems and compete with human-created works.
This report, the third in an extensive AI study, follows a review initiated in 2023 that gathered insights from thousands, including AI developers, actors, and country musicians.
