The former leader's administration on Monday petitioned the nation's highest court to allow the removal of the head of the US Copyright Office.
This emergency request follows roughly six weeks after a federal appellate court in Washington decided that the director, Shira Perlmutter, could not be unilaterally dismissed.
Almost one month prior, the full District of Columbia appeals court declined to reconsider that ruling.
This case is the most recent in a line of cases concerning presidential power to appoint chosen heads at government agencies.
The High Court has mostly allowed such dismissals, even as legal challenges proceed.
However, this particular matter concerns an office inside the national library. Perlmutter serves as the copyright registrar and also advises the legislature on copyright issues.
The solicitor general, D John Sauer, argued in the legal document that, despite connections to the legislative branch, the register “wields administrative authority” in overseeing copyrights.
Perlmutter alleges she was fired in May because the ex-leader disapproved with recommendations she gave to lawmakers in a report related to artificial intelligence.
She allegedly got an email from the White House notifying her that her position was “ended starting immediately,” according to her office.
A divided appellate group ruled that Perlmutter could retain her position while the case moves forward.
“The Executive's claimed blatant interference with the duties of a Legislative Branch official, as she performs statutorily authorized responsibilities to advise the legislature, strikes us as a breach of the division of government authority,” wrote Justice Florence Pan for the appeals court.
Justice J Michelle Childs joined the opinion. Both justices were nominated to the appellate court by Democrat President Joe Biden.
In opposition, Judge Justin Walker, a former president's nominee, argued that Perlmutter “exercises executive authority in a variety of ways.”
Perlmutter's lawyers have contended that she is a renowned copyright expert. She has acted as copyright director since ex- head librarian Carla Hayden appointed her to the position in October 2020.
The former president named deputy attorney general Todd Blanche to replace Hayden at the national library. The White House had dismissed Hayden amid complaints from conservatives that she was advancing a “woke” program.
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