Trump Tries to Take Over the Library of Congress Without Congressional Authorization and Put His Lackeys In Charge
The question of who controls the Library of Congress would seem to be answered in the name itself: It is the Library of Congress. But Donald Trump just tried to install his lackeys in top positions there, leading to a standoff with library staff and members of Congress.
The New York Times reports:
Mr. Trump named Todd Blanche, the deputy attorney general who was his lead defense lawyer in his criminal trial in Manhattan last year, to take over from Carla Hayden, the librarian of Congress whom the president abruptly fired late last week. …
Around 9 a.m., the two Justice Department officials arrived at the library’s James Madison Memorial Building and sought access to the U.S. Copyright Office, which is housed there. They brought a letter from the White House declaring that Mr. Blanche was the acting librarian and that he had selected the two men for top roles at the agency. …
Staff members at the library balked and called the U.S. Capitol Police as well as their general counsel, Meg Williams, who told the two officials that they were not allowed access to the Copyright Office and asked them to leave, one of the people said.
Mr. Perkins and Mr. Nieves then left the building willingly, accompanied to the door by Ms. Williams. The library’s staff is recognizing Robert Newlen, the principal deputy librarian who was Dr. Hayden’s No. 2, as the acting librarian until it gets direction from Congress, one of the people familiar with the situation said. …
The Library of Congress houses the Congressional Research Service, which provides nonpartisan information to assist in the drafting of legislation, and the Copyright Office.
Trump has been asserting a broad interpretation of the power of the president to control independent agencies. This is an unambiguous case where that assertion breaks down the separation of powers and would subject the functioning of Congress to the control of the president.
This situation has echoes of the takeover of the United States Institute of Peace where DOGE honchos showed up—the second time around with the police and the FBI—and forcibly took over the building and threw out the existing staff even though USIP is not part of the executive branch.
The Executive Watch is a project of the Institute for the Study of Modern Authoritarianism, and its flagship publication The UnPopulist, to track in an ongoing way the abuses of the power of the American presidency. It sorts these abuses into five categories: Personal Grift, Political Corruption, Presidential Retribution, Power Consolidation, and Policy Illegality. Click the category of interest to get an overview of all the abuses under it.
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