The Steady Drip

Firing, hiring and a mystery: The 225-year-old Library of Congress has never had a moment like this (Connecting the Dots: James H. Billington, Carla Hayden, The Library of Congress & The Carnegie/Soros Network)

By HILLEL ITALIE

Updated 12:21 PM PDT, May 15, 2025

1of 2 | Librarian of Congress Carla Hayden arrives on the red carpet for the 2024 Library of Congress Gershwin Prize for Popular Song honoring Elton John and Bernie Taupin at DAR Constitution Hall March 20, 2024, in Washington. (AP Photo/Kevin Wolf, File)

https://apnews.com/article/library-of-congress-card-history-librarian-firings-83d9e862a68832d8076773a7eb16114f

The Library of Congress, a 225-year-old Washington institution, has never had a moment like this.

A week ago, the Trump administration fired the longtime librarian of Congress, Carla Hayden. The man appointed by President Donald Trump to be interim librarian, Todd Blanche, may not actually be the interim librarian. And Hayden’s ouster may not even be legal.

Here’s more about the library, Hayden’s ouster and the mystery of who’s in charge now:

What is the Library of Congress?

The country’s oldest federal cultural institution, the Library of Congress was founded in 1800 under legislation by President John Adams and has traditionally enjoyed bipartisan backing.

In addition to its billing as “the largest library in the world,” it could also be called the country’s unofficial memory bank. It contains more than 100 million books, recordings, images and other artifacts and offers a vast online archive, and its contents span three buildings on Capitol Hill.

Each year, the library’s National Film Registry chooses 25 movies “showcasing the range and diversity of American film heritage.” The National Recording Registry selects for preservation sound recordings that “are culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant, and inform or reflect life in the United States.”

The library also manages the nonpartisan Congressional Research Service, which responds to tens of thousands of requests from Congress each year. Communications are confidential from disclosure under the “speech or debate” clause of the U.S. Constitution. Library of Congress events include an annual book festival, tours, films, exhibits and conferences.

The Library of Congress is not a traditional circulating library but is instead a research library. No one under 16 can get a reader card to access the collection. Those 16 and 17 require a parent’s permission.

What does the librarian of Congress do?

The librarian has a wide range of responsibilities, from overseeing the Library of Congress’ collections to selecting the country’s poet laureate to awarding the Gershwin Prize for Popular Song and the Library of Congress Prize for American Fiction.

Librarians serve 10-year terms, and Hayden’s was scheduled to end in 2026.

Her predecessors include James Billington, Daniel Boorstin and Archibald MacLeish.

Who was fired? Who was hired?

Late last week, the Trump administration abruptly fired Hayden, the first Black person and the first woman to hold the position. Hayden, nominated by President Barack Obama in 2015 and confirmed 74-18 by the Republican-led Senate the following year, was informed via email that “your position as the Librarian of Congress is terminated effective immediately. Thank you for your service.”

More upheavals quickly followed. The White House fired U.S. Copyright Office head Shira Perlmutter, whom Hayden had appointed in 2020. The Justice Department then announced that Blanche, the deputy attorney general, had been named acting librarian of Congress and that Paul Perkins, an associate deputy attorney general and veteran Justice Department attorney, was acting director of the Copyright Office.

Blanche was a member of Trump’s defense team in his New York hush money trial, which ended last year in a conviction on 34 felony counts.

Why was Hayden fired?

The White House cited no specific reason in its email to her, although Trump has been purging officials he believes opposed to him and his policies. The conservative American Accountability Foundation had alleged she was promoting children’s books with “radical content,” and White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt stated that she was “putting inappropriate books in the library for children.”

A copy of virtually every book published in the U.S. during a given year is given to the Copyright Office, with the Library of Congress deciding whether to include it in the main collection.

Hayden’s firing was denounced by Democrats, librarians, educators and others, including the outgoing U.S. poet laureate, Ada Limón. Appointed by Hayden in 2022, Limón called her the “kindest, brightest, most generous Librarian of Congress we could have hoped for as a nation.”

Did the White House have the legal right to fire her?

Despite being nominated by the president, the librarian of Congress is a legislative branch employee and appoints leaders to other positions under it, such as the assistant librarian and the director of the Copyright Office.

That’s why a dispute between Congress and the White House has erupted as Republican leaders sort out how much authority the president -- the head of the executive branch -- has in tapping an acting librarian.

Usually, if that position is vacant, an interim librarian is chosen from the current ranks of the Library of Congress.

Who is in charge right now?

Although Blanche was announced as acting librarian, he has yet to turn up at the Library of Congress offices, according to a person with knowledge of internal operations. The person was not authorized to speak publicly and spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity.

The library is currently being run by Robert Randolph Newlen, the person says.

Newlen had been principal deputy librarian, and, per library regulations, was in line to succeed the librarian of Congress in case of absence or temporary unavailability.

___

Associated Press writer Seung Min Kim contributed to this report from Washington.

Connecting the Dots:

Carnegie Corporation of New York was a funder for the Library of Congress and a supporter for the American Society for Muslim Advancement.

Andrew Carnegie was the founder of the Carnegie Corporation of New York.

Ted Lieu was honored with the Carnegie Corporation of New York's Great Immigrants Award, has represented California's 36th congressional district in the United States House of Representatives since 2023 and is a member of the Congressional Progressive Caucus.

Astrid S. Tuminez was a program officer at the Carnegie Corporation of New York and is the 7th President of the Utah Valley University (Charlie Kirk Shooting).

Andrew Carnegie was the founder of the Carnegie Corporation of New York.

Carnegie Corporation of New York was a funder for the Library of Congress and a supporter for the American Society for Muslim Advancement.

John S. Hendricks is a trustee at the Carnegie Corporation of New York and was a trustee at the American Film Institute.

James H. Billington is the librarian for the Library of Congress and was a trustee at the American Film Institute.

Shonda Rhimes is a trustee at the American Film Institute and a trustee at the Kennedy Center.

James V. Kimsey was a trustee at the American Film Institute and a trustee at the Kennedy Center.

Howard Stringer is the chairman for the American Film Institute and was a corporate fund board member for the Kennedy Center.

Ari Emanuel was a trustee at the American Film Institute, is Ezekiel Emanuel & Rahm I. Emanuel’s brother and the co-CEO & director for William Morris Endeavor Entertainment.

Ezekiel Emanuel is Ari Emanuel & Rahm I. Emanuel’s brother, a senior fellow at the Center for American Progress, was the founding chair of the Department of Bioethics at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) the health care policy adviser at the U.S. Office of Management and Budget for the Barack Obama administration.

Carnegie Corporation of New York was a funder for the Center for American Progress, the Library of Congress and a supporter for the American Society for Muslim Advancement.

Open Society Foundations was a funder for the Center for American Progress.

George Soros is the founder & chairman for the Open Society Foundations, was the chairman for the Foundation to Promote Open Society and a supporter for the Center for American Progress.

Foundation to Promote Open Society was a funder for the Center for American Progress and the Brookings Institution (think tank).

Cameron F. Kerry is a fellow at the Brookings Institution (think tank), John F. Kerry’s brother, Teresa Heinz Kerry’s brother-in-law and a senior counsel at Sidley Austin LLP.

Michelle Obama was a lawyer at Sidley Austin LLP.

Barack Obama was an intern at Sidley Austin LLP.

R. Eden Martin is counsel at Sidley Austin LLP and the president of the Commercial Club of Chicago.

Rahm I. Emanuel is a member of the Commercial Club of Chicago, Ari Emanuel & Ezekiel Emanuel’s brother and was the White House chief of staff for the Barack Obama administration.

Newton N. Minow was a member of the Commercial Club of Chicago, a senior counsel at Sidley Austin LLP and an honorary trustee at the Carnegie Corporation of New York.

Carnegie Corporation of New York was a funder for the Brookings Institution (think tank), the Library of Congress and a supporter for the American Society for Muslim Advancement.

Teresa Heinz Kerry is an honorary trustee at the Brookings Institution (think tank), Cameron F. Kerry’s sister-in-law, married to John F. Kerry, a trustee at the Carnegie Museums of Pittsburgh and a life trustee at Carnegie Mellon University.

Andrew Carnegie was the founder for the Carnegie Museums of Pittsburgh and the endowed predecessor schools for the Carnegie Mellon University.

List of Mellon family foundations

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Mellon_family_foundations

The family has also been known for using its wealth to support philanthropic work in the arts, education and conservation through various nonprofit organizations. It founded the National Gallery of Art and is a major patron to the University of Pittsburgh, Carnegie Mellon University and the University of Virginia. Individual members of the Mellon family have created private foundations and donated to museums and protected areas,[4] including the creation of the Bollingen Foundation, the Rachel Mellon Walton Fund, and the Mellon Trust.

Andrew W. Mellon Foundation

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Andrew_W._Mellon_Foundation

The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, commonly known as the Mellon Foundation, is a New York City-based private foundation with wealth accumulated by Andrew Mellon of the Mellon family of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

Carla Hayden

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carla_Hayden

Carla Hayden was appointed senior fellow at the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation on July 7, 2025 and an American librarian who served as the 14th librarian of Congress.

Carnegie Corporation of New York was a funder for the Library of Congress, the Brookings Institution (think tank) and a supporter for the American Society for Muslim Advancement.

Andrew Carnegie was the founder of the Carnegie Corporation of New York.

James H. Billington was the librarian for the Library of Congress and a Lower Merion High School graduate.

Lawrence H. Summers was a Lower Merion High School graduate, the National Economic Council chairman for the Barack Obama administration, a board member for the International Crisis Group, a trustee at the Brookings Institution (think tank) and is a distinguished senior fellow at the Center for American Progress.

George Soros is a board member for the International Crisis Group, the founder & chairman for the Open Society Foundations and was the chairman for the Foundation to Promote Open Society.

Foundation to Promote Open Society was a funder for the Brookings Institution (think tank) and the Center for American Progress.

Open Society Foundations was a funder for the Center for American Progress.

Carnegie Corporation of New York was a funder for the Brookings Institution (think tank), the Center for American Progress, the Library of Congress, the Brookings Institution (think tank) and a supporter for the American Society for Muslim Advancement.

Andrew Carnegie was the founder of the Carnegie Corporation of New York.

Ezekiel Emanuel is a senior fellow at the Center for American Progress, Ari Emanuel & Rahm I. Emanuel’s brother, was the founding chair of the Department of Bioethics at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) the health care policy adviser at the U.S. Office of Management and Budget for the Barack Obama administration.

Ari Emanuel is Ezekiel Emanuel & Rahm I. Emanuel’s brother, the co-CEO & director for William Morris Endeavor Entertainment and was a trustee at the American Film Institute.

James H. Billington was a trustee at the American Film Institute and the librarian for the Library of Congress.

Shonda Rhimes is a trustee at the American Film Institute and a trustee at the Kennedy Center.

James V. Kimsey was a trustee at the American Film Institute and a trustee at the Kennedy Center.

Howard Stringer is the chairman for the American Film Institute and was a corporate fund board member for the Kennedy Center.

Beatrice W. Welters was a trustee emeritus at the Kennedy Center and a trustee at the Brookings Institution (think tank).

James D. Wolfensohn was the chairman emeritus for the Kennedy Center and an honorary trustee at the Brookings Institution (think tank).

James A. Johnson is a corporate fund board member for the Kennedy Center and an honorary trustee at the Brookings Institution (think tank).