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The former leader's administration on Monday petitioned the nation's highest court to permit the removal of the head of the US Copyright Office.

This emergency appeal comes about six weeks after a federal appellate court in Washington ruled that the director, Shira Perlmutter, could not be solely dismissed.

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

This case is the latest in a line of disputes related to presidential authority to appoint preferred leaders at federal offices.

The High Court has generally allowed such actions, even as legal challenges continue.

However, this specific matter involves an office inside the national library. Perlmutter acts as the copyright registrar and also advises the legislature on intellectual property matters.

The government's top lawyer, D John Sauer, argued in the filing that, regardless of connections to Congress, the director “exercises administrative power” in overseeing copyrights.

Perlmutter alleges she was fired in May because the ex-leader disagreed with advice she provided to Congress in a document related to AI.

She reportedly got an message from the White House notifying her that her role was “terminated effective at once,” according to her staff.

A divided appellate panel decided that Perlmutter could keep her position while the legal dispute moves forward.

“The Executive's claimed obvious meddling with the duties of a Legislative Branch officer, as she performs statutorily authorized duties to counsel Congress, strikes us as a violation of the division of government authority,” stated Justice Florence Pan for the appellate panel.

Judge J Michelle Childs joined the ruling. Both judges were appointed to the appeals court by Democrat President Joe Biden.

In dissent, Justice Justin Walker, a Trump appointee, wrote that Perlmutter “uses administrative authority in a variety of manners.”

Perlmutter's attorneys have contended that she is a well-known copyright expert. She has acted as copyright director since ex- librarian of Congress Carla Hayden selected her to the position in October 2020.

The former president named assistant attorney general Todd Blanche to replace Hayden at the Library of Congress. The White House had fired Hayden amid complaints from conservatives that she was advancing a “woke” agenda.