This time, however, Perlmutter's title includes the word “Congress,” and she argued in court that this means she is a member of the legislative branch and therefore cannot be removed from the executive branch. Perlmutter's lawsuit also noted that Trump disagreed with a report she wrote in which she said tech companies would likely have to pay licensing fees to access copyrighted material for artificial intelligence models.
“Today, the administration's unlawful overreach has not been approved by the U.S. Supreme Court,” said Skye Perryman, president and CEO of Democracy Forward, which represented Perlmutter. “We are pleased that the Court has deferred the government's motion to vacate the court's ruling in a case that is critical to the rule of law, the separation of powers, and the independence of the Library of Congress.”
Other cases before the court involve Trump's ouster of the Federal Trade Commissioner. Rebecca Kelly Slaughter and Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook. Slaughter is challenging her firing, saying Congress requires the president to provide cause when firing members of independent agencies, but the court has allowed Trump to remove Slaughter pending a decision in the case next month. Cook was allowed stay in her capacity and her case will be heard in court in January.
