Judge sides with Trump again in fight over fired Copyright Office head

By Blake Brittain

July 31 (Reuters) - In a preliminary win for the White House, a federal judge in Washington declined for the second time to reinstate U.S. Copyright Office director Shira Perlmutter as she challenges President Donald Trump's decision to fire her in May.

U.S. District Judge Timothy Kelly rejected Perlmutter's request for a preliminary injunction that would prevent the administration from removing her while the court considers her case, ruling that failing to reinstate her would not cause "irreparable harm."

Kelly denied Perlmutter's bid for an emergency restraining order against the administration in May on similar grounds.

Several federal judges have ruled that Trump's firings of members of independent agencies were illegal and ordered officials to be reinstated. Appeals courts and the U.S. Supreme Court have paused those rulings pending appeals, including a decision involving a consumer product safety board that the Supreme Court paused last week.

White House spokesperson Harrison Fields said on Thursday that the Perlmutter decision "reaffirms that the Trump Administration is lawfully exercising its authority to remove officers."

Attorneys for Perlmutter did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Thursday. A spokesperson for the Copyright Office declined to comment.

The administration fired Perlmutter by email on May 10. Her removal sparked a backlash from Democratic politicians who said that Congress had "purposely insulated" the Copyright Office, a department of the Library of Congress, from political influence.

Perlmutter sued the administration on May 22, calling her removal "blatantly unlawful." The administration has countered that the Library of Congress is "not an autonomous organization free from political supervision."

The administration also fired Librarian of Congress Carla Hayden on May 9, citing her advancement of diversity, equity and inclusion policies.

Kelly said on Wednesday that Perlmutter's loss of her job was not the type of irreparable harm that would justify a preliminary injunction against her firing.

The case is Perlmutter v. Blanche, U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, No. 1:25-cv-01659.

For Perlmutter: Don Verrilli, Ginger Anders and Kuruvilla Olasa of Munger Tolles & Olson; Brian Netter and Allyson Scher of Democracy Forward

For the administration: Christopher Hall and Stanley Woodward of the U.S. Department of Justice

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