The Justice Department’s No. 2 official now has a second job: running the Library of Congress. President Donald Trump has appointed Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche as the acting librarian, a DOJ official said Monday.
The added duties for Blanche come after Trump fired Librarian of Congress Carla Hayden on Thursday, about nine years into her 10-year term.
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said Friday that Trump had dismissed Hayden because “she did not fit the needs of the American people.” Leavitt described as “quite concerning” Hayden’s work on diversity, equity and inclusion, or DEI, programs.
The library’s official biography of Hayden, who is African American, touts her use of a private grant to engage with “underrepresented” communities and “add their perspectives to the Library’s collections.”
Leavitt also claimed Hayden was “putting inappropriate books in the library for children,” a puzzling assertion since the Library of Congress is not a lending library and researchers have to be at least 16.
Trump on Saturday also dismissed top U.S. copyright official Shira Perlmutter, who was appointed by Hayden. The firing came a day after her office released a draft report on use of copyrighted materials in artificial intelligence.
Congressional Democrats have denounced Trump’s move and called for Congress to pass a law eliminating the president’s power to appoint the top librarian.
“We must assert our congressional prerogative by making the position of Librarian of Congress appointed by a Congressional commission — not by presidents that treat federal appointments like reality TV prizes,” Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer said.
Blanche is taking over from Principal Deputy Librarian Robert Newlen, who automatically replaced Hayden on an acting basis last week.