The ex- leader's government on Monday requested the nation's highest court to allow the removal of the director of the US Copyright Office.
This emergency appeal follows roughly a month and a half after a national appeals court in Washington decided that the official, Shira Perlmutter, cannot be solely dismissed.
Nearly one month prior, the full District of Columbia appeals court refused to review that decision.
This case is the latest in a line of cases concerning presidential authority to appoint preferred heads at federal agencies.
The Supreme Court has generally allowed such dismissals, even as legal challenges proceed.
However, this particular matter concerns an office inside the national library. Perlmutter serves as the copyright registrar and also counsels the legislature on intellectual property matters.
The government's top lawyer, D John Sauer, argued in the filing that, despite ties to the legislative branch, the register “wields administrative authority” in regulating copyrights.
Perlmutter alleges she was fired in May because the ex-leader disagreed with recommendations she gave to Congress in a document related to artificial intelligence.
She reportedly received an message from the White House informing her that her position was “ended effective immediately,” as stated by her staff.
A divided appeals court panel decided that Perlmutter could keep her job while the case moves forward.
“The administration's alleged blatant meddling with the work of a congressional officer, as she performs statutorily authorized duties to advise Congress, strikes us as a violation of the separation of powers,” stated Judge Florence Pan for the appellate panel.
Judge J Michelle Childs supported the opinion. Both judges were appointed to the appellate court by Democrat leader Joe Biden.
In dissent, Justice Justin Walker, a Trump appointee, argued that Perlmutter “uses executive power in a host of ways.”
Perlmutter's lawyers have contended that she is a renowned copyright expert. She has acted as register of copyrights since former head librarian Carla Hayden selected her to the position in October 2020.
The former president named deputy attorney general Todd Blanche to succeed Hayden at the national library. The administration had fired Hayden amid complaints from conservatives that she was advancing a “progressive” program.
