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The former president's administration on Monday petitioned the US Supreme Court to permit the removal of the head of the American copyright authority.

This emergency appeal comes about six weeks after a national appeals court in Washington ruled that the official, Shira Perlmutter, cannot be unilaterally fired.

Nearly one month prior, the full District of Columbia circuit court declined to reconsider that ruling.

This case is the most recent in a line of cases related to presidential power to place preferred heads at federal agencies.

The Supreme Court has mostly allowed such actions, even as court challenges continue.

However, this specific case concerns an office inside the national library. Perlmutter serves as the register of copyrights and also advises Congress on intellectual property issues.

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

Perlmutter claims she was terminated in May because the ex-leader disagreed with recommendations she provided to lawmakers in a document related to AI.

She reportedly got an email from the administration notifying her that her position was “ended starting at once,” as stated by her staff.

A split appeals court panel ruled that Perlmutter could keep her position while the legal dispute proceeds.

“The Executive's claimed obvious interference with the work of a Legislative Branch official, as she carries out statutorily authorized responsibilities to counsel the legislature, appears to be a violation of the separation of powers,” wrote Justice Florence Pan for the appellate panel.

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

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

Perlmutter's lawyers have argued that she is a renowned intellectual property expert. She has acted as copyright director since ex- head librarian Carla Hayden appointed her to the role in October 2020.

The former president appointed deputy attorney general Todd Blanche to replace Hayden at the national library. The administration had fired Hayden amid complaints from right-leaning groups that she was promoting a “woke” program.