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The ex- leader's government on Monday petitioned the US Supreme Court to permit the termination of the director of the US Copyright Office.

This urgent appeal follows about six weeks after a national appellate court in Washington decided that the director, Shira Perlmutter, cannot be solely dismissed.

Almost four weeks prior, the full District of Columbia circuit court declined to review that ruling.

This case is the latest in a series of cases related to presidential power to appoint chosen heads at federal agencies.

The Supreme Court has mostly allowed such actions, even as court challenges proceed.

However, this specific matter concerns an office inside the national library. Perlmutter serves as the register of copyrights and also advises Congress on copyright matters.

The government's top lawyer, D John Sauer, argued in the legal document that, despite connections to Congress, the register “exercises executive authority” in overseeing copyrights.

Perlmutter alleges she was fired in May because the ex-leader disagreed with advice she provided to lawmakers in a report concerning AI.

She allegedly got an email from the White House notifying her that her role was “ended effective at once,” according to her office.

A divided appellate panel ruled that Perlmutter could keep her job while the case moves forward.

“The administration's claimed obvious interference with the duties of a Legislative Branch official, as she performs legally approved responsibilities to advise the legislature, appears to be a breach of the division of government authority,” wrote Justice Florence Pan for the appeals court.

Justice J Michelle Childs joined the opinion. Both judges were appointed to the appeals court by Democratic leader Joe Biden.

In dissent, Judge Justin Walker, a former president's nominee, wrote that Perlmutter “uses executive power in a variety of ways.”

Perlmutter's attorneys have argued that she is a well-known intellectual property specialist. She has served as copyright director since former head librarian Carla Hayden appointed her to the role in October 2020.

The former president named deputy attorney general Todd Blanche to succeed Hayden at the Library of Congress. The White House had dismissed Hayden following criticism from right-leaning groups that she was advancing a “woke” program.