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The former president's government on Monday requested the US Supreme Court to allow the removal of the head of the American copyright authority.

This urgent appeal follows roughly a month and a half after a federal appellate court in Washington ruled that the director, Shira Perlmutter, could not be solely fired.

Almost four weeks prior, the entire District of Columbia circuit court declined to review that ruling.

This case is the most recent in a series of cases related to executive authority to appoint preferred heads at federal agencies.

The Supreme Court has mostly allowed such actions, even as court disputes proceed.

However, this particular case concerns an bureau inside the Library of Congress. Perlmutter serves as the register of copyrights and also counsels Congress on copyright matters.

The government's top lawyer, D John Sauer, argued in the legal document that, despite connections to the legislative branch, the register “wields administrative power” in regulating copyrights.

Perlmutter alleges she was terminated in May because the former president disagreed with advice she gave to lawmakers in a document concerning artificial intelligence.

She reportedly received an email from the White House informing her that her position was “terminated effective immediately,” according to her office.

A divided appeals court panel decided that Perlmutter could retain her job while the case proceeds.

“The Executive's claimed obvious interference with the duties of a Legislative Branch official, as she carries out statutorily approved duties to counsel the legislature, strikes us as a breach of the separation of powers,” wrote Judge Florence Pan for the appeals court.

Judge J Michelle Childs joined the ruling. Both justices were appointed to the appellate court by Democrat leader Joe Biden.

In opposition, Judge Justin Walker, a former president's nominee, wrote that Perlmutter “uses executive authority in a host of manners.”

Perlmutter's lawyers have argued that she is a well-known copyright specialist. She has acted as copyright director since ex- head librarian Carla Hayden appointed her to the position in October 2020.

The ex-leader named deputy attorney general Todd Blanche to replace Hayden at the national library. The administration had fired Hayden amid complaints from conservatives that she was promoting a “woke” program.