D.C. Judge Pauses Perlmutter Suit as Copyright Office Bill Awaits Senate Action

The U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia issued a minute order on September 18, in Perlmutter v. Blanche, staying the lawsuit brought by Register of Copyrights Shira Perlmutter until December 18, 2026. Judge Timothy J. Kelly pointed to the House of Representatives’ June passage of the Legislative Branch Agencies Clarification Act, H.R. 6028, which would designate the Register of Copyrights as an officer “appointed by the President” with the advice and consent of the Senate.

Perlmutter filed a lawsuit against President Donald Trump, Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche, and several other federal officials on May 22, 2025, challenging the Trump Administration’s efforts to remove her from her post at the Library of Congress. Her complaint alleged that those efforts were unlawful, arguing in part that the President lacks the power to appoint or remove the Register. In May 2025, Trump fired Librarian of Congress Carla Hayden and named Blanche, a U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) official, as acting Librarian before moving to remove Perlmutter. The complaint asserted that the President “has no authority to name a temporary replacement Librarian of Congress, much less name a high-ranking DOJ official whose presence offends the constitutional separation of powers.” Perlmutter seeks to retain her position as Register.

Judge Kelly denied Perlmutter’s motion for a preliminary injunction on July 30, 2025, and later denied her request for an injunction pending appeal. In a 2-1 decision issued on September 10, 2025, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit granted Perlmutter an injunction pending appeal, allowing her to remain in office while her lawsuit proceeds. The majority concluded that the district court “abused its discretion” by failing to account for factors relevant to the irreparable harm analysis, including unusual actions connected to the discharge itself. The D.C. Circuit denied Blanche’s petition for rehearing on October 1, 2025, and has since set a briefing schedule on the appeal that concludes October 30, 2026.

Blanche also asked the Supreme Court to stay the injunction. After deferring action pending its decisions in Trump v. Slaughter and Trump v. Cook, the Court denied the application on June 30, 2026, noting that the denial did not constitute a ruling on the merits.

Perlmutter and the government had previously filed cross-motions for summary judgment in the district court. Following the Supreme Court’s decision in Trump v. Slaughter, Judge Kelly ordered supplemental briefing on how the ruling affects those motions. Each side submitted a supplemental memorandum on July 31, 2026, followed by responses on August 14.

According to the minute order, Judge Kelly learned after those submissions that the House had passed H.R. 6028 by voice vote on June 8, 2026. The legislation would define the structure of the Library of Congress and the U.S. Copyright Office, and Section 6(I)(B)(i)(I)(bb) would provide that the Register is a presidentially appointed, Senate-confirmed officer. The measure is now pending before the Senate, and Representative H. Morgan Griffith (R-VA) introduced the bill while Perlmutter’s lawsuit was pending. As introduced, the bill would have removed the Library’s supervisory authority over the Copyright Office and limited the Register’s term to 10 years, with possible reappointment. Earlier this year, a coalition of organizations led by Re: Create urged the House Committee on Administration to consider the bill through regular order rather than on an expedited basis.

Judge Kelly grounded the stay in a district court’s inherent authority to manage its docket, citing Landis v. North American Co., in which the Supreme Court recognized the power to stay proceedings to “control the disposition of the causes on its docket with economy of time and effort for itself, for counsel, and for litigants.” Relying on International Painters & Allied Trades Industry Pension Fund v. Painting Co., the order explained that a court may pause a matter while separate proceedings that could affect its outcome are resolved. Judge Kelly determined that a brief stay would conserve judicial resources while Congress considered the legislation, explaining that the stay was warranted “in light of the obvious effect on this case that this legislation’s passage and enactment into law would have.”

Ultimately, Judge Kelly stayed the case until December 18, 2026, and ordered Perlmutter and the government to file a joint status report within seven days if the Legislative Branch Agencies Clarification Act becomes law.

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Author: Authoralexwhite