A federal bureaucrat went to court to insist that, because President Donald Trump cannot fire her, the Trump administration should be halted from doing so.

However, Shira Perlmutter, former director of the U.S. Copyright Office, lost a round in court on Wednesday after U.S. District Judge Timothy Kelly said she failed to show irreparable harm from being fired, according to the Associated Press.

Kelly did not decide the merits of Perlmutter’s suit. He only rejected her demand for a temporary restraining order that would have let her keep her job while the legal wrangling goes on.

Perlmutter has been Register of Copyrights since October 2020. Trump has appointed Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche as Librarian of Congress, to replace Carla Hayden, who appointed Perlmutter.

The U.S. Copyright Office operates within the Library of Congress. The Librarian of Congress, who works for the legislative branch but is a presidential appointment subject to Senate confirmation, chooses its director.

The lawsuit is aimed at Blanche as well as the wider Trump administration, according to Politico.

Justice Department lawyers said in a court filing that Perlmutter is wrongly claiming she is an exception to the rules.

“The Constitution creates three branches of Government. There is Congress, the Executive, and the Judiciary. There is no fourth constitutional category reserved for an indeterminate-and-multiplying number of autonomous federal organizations. That simple principle suffices to deny Plaintiff’s motion,” the filing said.

The filing said Trump acted in an orderly manner.

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“The President of the United States removed Carla Hayden from her position as Librarian of Congress and designated the Deputy Attorney General, Todd Blanche, as acting Librarian,” the filing said.

The President then removed Plaintiff, Shira Perlmutter, from service as the Register of Copyrights and Director of the U.S. Copyright Office — a decision that was ratified by Mr. Blanche in his role as acting Librarian, including through Mr. Blanche’s appointment of Paul Perkins to that role,” the filing said.

Judge declines to halt firing of Copyright Office head Shira Perlmutter https://t.co/FXzUYn1Izk pic.twitter.com/XcFktsu7Sm

— Roll Call (@rollcall) May 28, 2025

“The President had the power to remove the Librarian and designate an acting replacement. The Library of Congress is not an autonomous organization free from political supervision. It is part of the Executive Branch and is subject to presidential control, according to the strictures of the Federal Vacancies Reform Act,” the filing said.

The filing said Perlmutter had no claim to retain her job, noting, “Plaintiff has no right to perpetual service as Register of Copyrights.”

“The other injuries Plaintiff postulates are not her injuries, but supposed institutional injuries to the Library or to Congress — injuries that cannot support her request for judicial reinstallation to office. And Plaintiff makes no claim that the U.S. Copyright Office is somehow in jeopardy,” the filing said.

After the ruling, the White House stood by its position, according to Roll Call.

“All organizations are more effective when leaders are rowing in the same direction,” White House representative Anna Kelly said in a statement. “President Trump reserves the right to remove employees within his own Executive Branch who exert his executive authority.”

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