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The former president's administration on Monday petitioned the US Supreme Court to permit the removal of the director of the US Copyright Office.

This emergency request follows about six weeks after a national appellate court in Washington ruled that the official, Shira Perlmutter, could not be solely fired.

Almost one month ago, the full District of Columbia circuit court declined to review that decision.

This legal matter is the latest in a series of cases concerning executive power to place chosen leaders at government agencies.

The High Court has generally allowed such dismissals, even as legal challenges continue.

However, this specific matter concerns an office inside the Library of Congress. Perlmutter acts as the copyright registrar and also counsels the legislature on copyright issues.

The government's top lawyer, D John Sauer, argued in the legal document that, regardless of ties to Congress, the register “exercises executive power” in overseeing copyrights.

Perlmutter alleges she was fired in May because the former president disapproved with advice she gave to Congress in a document concerning AI.

She reportedly got an message from the White House notifying her that her position was “terminated starting at once,” as stated by her staff.

A divided appeals court panel decided that Perlmutter could retain her job while the case moves forward.

“The Executive's claimed obvious meddling with the work of a Legislative Branch officer, as she performs statutorily authorized duties to counsel Congress, strikes us as a violation of the separation of powers,” wrote Justice Florence Pan for the appeals court.

Justice J Michelle Childs supported the ruling. Both judges were nominated to the appeals court by Democratic leader Joe Biden.

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

Perlmutter's lawyers have argued that she is a renowned intellectual property expert. She has served as register of copyrights since ex- librarian of Congress Carla Hayden selected her to the role in October 2020.

The former president named assistant attorney general Todd Blanche to replace Hayden at the national library. The White House had fired Hayden following complaints from right-leaning groups that she was promoting a “woke” agenda.