SCOTUS Scraps Trump’s Bid to Oust Perlmutter for Now, Following Slaughter and Cook Rulings

Following the U.S. Supreme Court’s closely watched decisions in Trump v. Slaughter and Trump v. Cook yesterday, which together clarified the scope of presidential authority to remove certain federal officials from office, the Court today denied the Trump Administration’s request to stay a lower court order temporarily restoring Register of Copyrights Shira Perlmutter to office while her challenge to her removal proceeds in court. The Court emphasized, however, that “[t]he denial of the application is not a ruling on the merits of the legal issues presented in the litigation,” leaving the substantive dispute for a later day.

Though Perlmutter remains Register of Copyrights for now, the Court’s decisions in Slaughter and Cook, particularly its expansion of presidential removal authority in Slaughter, are widely expected to shape the outcome of the dispute over whether President Trump lawfully removed the United States’ top copyright officer.

Perlmutter Dispute Background

The Perlmutter dispute stems from President Trump’s May 2026 removal of Librarian of Congress Carla Hayden, followed by the removal of Register of Copyrights Shira Perlmutter only two days later. After naming Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche as Acting Librarian of Congress, the Trump Administration removed Perlmutter and appointed an Acting Register of Copyrights. Perlmutter then challenged her removal by arguing that the President lacks authority to remove her or appoint an acting Librarian of Congress in the manner performed by Trump.

Although a district court initially denied Perlmutter’s request for a preliminary injunction, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit reversed. The Circuit court held that the district court failed to account for the “genuinely extraordinary situation” presented by the case and ordered Perlmutter be restored to her position while the litigation proceeds. The Trump Administration then asked the Supreme Court to stay that injunction, arguing that it represented “another case of improper judicial interference with the President’s power to remove executive officers.” As previously reported by IPWatchdog, the Supreme Court deferred consideration of that request until after deciding Trump v. Slaughter and Trump v. Cook.

New Precedent from Slaughter and Cook 

In Trump v. Slaughter, the Supreme Court held that the Federal Trade Commission’s (FTC) statutory for-cause removal protections violate the separation of powers. The Court concluded that principal officers who exercise executive power must remain accountable to the President. The Court reversed the district court decision, and the majority explained that while the Senate plays a role in confirming executive officers, “neither Congress nor the courts may saddle [the President] with those with whom he cannot work.” Because “[s]ubordinates who exercise the President’s power are subject to removal by him,” the Court held that the FTC’s removal restrictions cannot stand and remanded the Slaughter case for further proceedings.

The Court reached a different conclusion in Trump v. Cook. This case involved President Trump’s removal of Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook. Rather than extending Slaughter to the Federal Reserve, the Court concluded that the Board of Governors occupies “a unique role in the U.S. Government” that follows “a distinct historical tradition of central bank independence,” thereby preserving statutory for-cause protections for Federal Reserve Governors. Justice Kavanaugh concurred, warning that leaving the Federal Reserve’s status unresolved would create “significant uncertainty” and risk “turmoil in the U.S. and world economies.”

Although neither opinion directly addresses the Register of Copyrights, the Court’s decision to defer action in Perlmutter until after resolving Slaughter and Cook suggests that the Justices viewed those cases as relevant to the issues presented, and its order today leaves it to the lower courts to work out how they should apply.

Separately, Congress is trying to address the issues presented by Trump’s removal of Perlmutter. In November, the “Legislative Branch Agencies Clarification Act” (H.R. 6028), was introduced and would require the Librarian of Congress to be appointed by a bipartisan commission of congress, as well as remove the Librarian’s authority over the Copyright Office. The bill passed the House on June 8, 2026.