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The former president's administration on Monday requested the US Supreme Court to permit the removal of the head of the US Copyright Office.

This emergency appeal follows about a month and a half after a federal appeals court in Washington ruled that the official, Shira Perlmutter, could not be unilaterally fired.

Almost one month ago, the full District of Columbia circuit court refused to reconsider that ruling.

This legal matter is the most recent in a line of cases related to executive power to appoint preferred heads at federal offices.

The High Court has mostly allowed such dismissals, even as legal disputes proceed.

However, this specific case involves an bureau inside the national library. Perlmutter serves as the copyright registrar and also advises the legislature on copyright matters.

The solicitor general, D John Sauer, stated in the filing that, regardless of ties to Congress, the register “exercises administrative authority” in overseeing intellectual property rights.

Perlmutter claims she was fired in May because the former president disapproved with recommendations she provided to Congress in a report concerning AI.

She reportedly received an message from the White House notifying her that her position was “ended starting immediately,” according to her staff.

A divided appellate group decided that Perlmutter could keep her position while the case proceeds.

“The Executive's claimed blatant interference with the duties of a Legislative Branch official, as she performs legally authorized duties to advise the legislature, strikes us as a breach of the division of government authority,” wrote Judge Florence Pan for the appellate panel.

Justice J Michelle Childs supported the ruling. Both justices were appointed to the appeals court by Democrat leader Joe Biden.

In opposition, Justice Justin Walker, a former president's nominee, argued that Perlmutter “exercises executive authority in a variety of ways.”

Perlmutter's attorneys have argued that she is a renowned intellectual property specialist. She has served as register of copyrights since ex- head librarian Carla Hayden selected her to the position in October 2020.

The former president named assistant attorney general Todd Blanche to replace Hayden at the national library. The administration had fired Hayden amid criticism from right-leaning groups that she was advancing a “progressive” program.