Daijiworld Media Network - Washington

Washington, May 11: US President Donald Trump has ignited a political firestorm by abruptly firing Shira Perlmutter, head of the US Copyright Office, just days after her office questioned the legality of using copyrighted content to train artificial intelligence systems. The dismissal, which followed the release of a critical policy report on AI, has drawn intense backlash from Democrats, who decried the move as an alarming act of executive interference.

Perlmutter’s removal came closely on the heels of the sudden dismissal of Librarian of Congress Carla Hayden—who originally appointed her—in a terse two-sentence email from the White House. Hayden, serving a Senate-confirmed 10-year term, was also terminated without explanation. The administration has yet to issue an official statement regarding either firing.

According to CBS News and Politico, internal Library of Congress communications confirmed that Perlmutter was formally notified of her termination on Saturday, shortly after the Copyright Office released the third installment of a comprehensive report on AI and copyright. The report cast doubt on whether the broad use of copyrighted data by AI companies can be legally justified, stating: “It is an open question... how much data an AI developer needs, and the marginal effect of more data on a model’s capabilities.”

The firings have sparked outrage on Capitol Hill. Representative Joe Morelle, the top Democrat on the House Administration Committee, condemned the dismissals as “a brazen, unprecedented power grab with no legal basis.” He argued that Perlmutter's ouster was tied to her resistance against technology mogul Elon Musk’s efforts to access copyrighted content for AI development. Musk, who owns xAI and the social platform X, has recently challenged the legitimacy of copyright law and publicly suggested its abolition.

“This action once again tramples on Congress’s Article One authority and throws a trillion-dollar industry into chaos,” Morelle warned, referencing the legislative provision that places the Copyright Office under the jurisdiction of the Librarian of Congress—not the President.

Since returning to office, Trump has positioned himself as a champion of aggressive AI development. His administration recently unveiled a massive $500 billion public-private initiative with OpenAI, Softbank, and Oracle to build national AI infrastructure. Critics, however, say the abrupt removals of Hayden and Perlmutter may set a troubling precedent for political interference in regulatory institutions.

Morelle concluded with a pointed question to his Republican colleagues: “When will enough be enough?”