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The former leader's government on Monday petitioned the nation's highest court to permit the removal of the director of the American copyright authority.

This urgent request comes roughly a month and a half after a national appeals court in Washington ruled that the official, Shira Perlmutter, could not be unilaterally fired.

Nearly one month prior, the entire District of Columbia appeals court declined to review that ruling.

This legal matter is the most recent in a series of disputes related to executive authority to appoint chosen heads at government offices.

The Supreme Court has mostly permitted such actions, even as legal challenges proceed.

However, this specific matter involves an office inside the Library of Congress. Perlmutter serves as the register of copyrights and also counsels Congress on copyright matters.

The government's top lawyer, D John Sauer, argued in the filing that, regardless of ties to Congress, the register “wields administrative power” in regulating intellectual property rights.

Perlmutter alleges she was terminated in May because the former president disagreed with advice she gave to Congress in a report related to artificial intelligence.

She allegedly got an message from the White House informing her that her role was “terminated starting immediately,” as stated by her office.

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

“The administration's claimed blatant interference with the work of a congressional official, as she carries out statutorily authorized responsibilities to counsel Congress, appears to be a violation of the division of government authority,” stated Justice Florence Pan for the appellate panel.

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

In opposition, Justice Justin Walker, a Trump appointee, argued that Perlmutter “uses executive power in a variety of manners.”

Perlmutter's lawyers have argued that she is a well-known intellectual property expert. She has served as copyright director since former librarian of Congress Carla Hayden selected her to the role in October 2020.

The former president appointed assistant 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 advancing a “progressive” agenda.