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The ex- leader's government on Monday petitioned the nation's highest court to permit the termination of the head of the US Copyright Office.

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

Nearly four weeks prior, the entire District of Columbia circuit court declined to reconsider that decision.

This case is the most recent in a line of cases concerning presidential authority to appoint chosen leaders at government agencies.

The Supreme Court has generally permitted such actions, even as legal disputes continue.

However, this particular matter concerns an office within the national library. Perlmutter serves as the copyright registrar and also advises Congress on copyright issues.

The solicitor general, D John Sauer, argued in the legal document that, regardless of connections to the legislative branch, the director “wields executive authority” in overseeing intellectual property rights.

Perlmutter claims she was fired in May because the former president disagreed with recommendations she gave to lawmakers in a document concerning AI.

She reportedly received an message from the White House notifying her that her position was “terminated effective immediately,” as stated by her staff.

A divided appeals court panel decided that Perlmutter could keep her job while the legal dispute moves forward.

“The Executive's alleged blatant meddling with the work of a congressional official, as she carries out legally approved responsibilities to advise the legislature, strikes us as a violation of the division of government authority,” wrote Judge Florence Pan for the appeals court.

Justice J Michelle Childs supported the ruling. Both judges were nominated to the appellate court by Democratic President Joe Biden.

In dissent, Justice Justin Walker, a former president's nominee, wrote that Perlmutter “exercises executive authority in a host of manners.”

Perlmutter's attorneys have argued that she is a renowned intellectual property specialist. She has served as register of copyrights since ex- head librarian Carla Hayden appointed her to the role in October 2020.

The former president appointed deputy attorney general Todd Blanche to succeed Hayden at the Library of Congress. The administration had dismissed Hayden amid criticism from right-leaning groups that she was promoting a “woke” agenda.