President Donald Trump fired the Librarian of Congress, Carla Hayden, on Thursday, according to a copy of her termination email obtained by NBC News.
In the email sent to Hayden, Trent Morse, the deputy director of presidential personnel, wrote: “On behalf of President Donald J. Trump, I am writing to inform you that your position as the Librarian of Congress is terminated effective immediately.”
The email was shared with congressional Democrats and obtained by NBC News.
Principal Deputy Librarian Robert Newlen sent an email Thursday informing library employees of Hayden’s dismissal, according to a copy obtained by NBC News. Newlen said in the email that he will “assume the duties of acting Librarian of Congress until further instruction.”
A spokesperson for the Library of Congress later confirmed Hayden’s termination.
“Tonight, the White House informed Librarian of Congress, Carla Hayden that she has been relieved of her position effective immediately,” the spokesperson said.
Hayden, the 14th Librarian of Congress in the institution’s 225-year history, was appointed by President Barack Obama in February 2016 and confirmed by the Senate in July 2016 in a bipartisan vote of 74-18.
She was the first woman and the first African American to occupy the role, milestones Obama called “long overdue.” In addition, she was the first Librarian of Congress to occupy the position without a lifetime appointment, with Obama signing a law in 2015 to establish a 10-year term for the Librarian of Congress. Her term was set to expire next year.
Before her tenure as Librarian of Congress, Hayden was the CEO of Enoch Pratt Free Library in Baltimore.
In testimony to the Senate Appropriations Committee on Tuesday morning and then to the House Administration Committee that afternoon, she outlined her efforts to extensively modernize and optimize the library’s systems, processes and staff.
She is the second official to have testified to Congress and then be fired this week after Cameron Hamilton was dismissed as acting director of the Federal Emergency Management Agency.
Democrats have roundly criticized Hayden’s dismissal, with Rep. Joe Morelle of New York, the top Democrat on the House Administration Committee, which oversees the Library of Congress, accusing Trump of unfairly targeting a public servant.
“The Librarian of Congress, Dr. Carla Hayden, has spent her entire career serving people — from helping kids learn to read to protecting some of nation’s most precious treasures. She is an American hero,” Morelle said in a statement, adding that he plans to introduce legislation to “guarantee that the Librarian of Congress is appointed by Congress.”
Morelle called Trump’s decision “ignorant” and said it “will impact America’s libraries, our copyrighted economic interests, and service to the American people.”
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., also called for congressional intervention.
“We must assert our congressional prerogative by making the position of Librarian of Congress appointed by a Congressional commission— not by presidents that treat federal appointments like reality TV prizes,” he said in an emailed statement, calling the dismissal Trump’s “latest foray in his relentless campaign to dismantle the guardrails of our democracy.”
House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., called the firing “a disgrace.”
“Donald Trump’s unjust decision to fire Dr. Hayden in an email sent by a random political hack is a disgrace and the latest in his ongoing effort to ban books, whitewash American history and turn back the clock,” Jeffries said in a statement.
A conservative nonprofit group, the American Accountability Foundation, has targeted Hayden in recent days, accusing her of being “woke” and claiming she promoted access to books about “radical gender identity.”
The group praised Trump’s decision to terminate Hayden.
“THANK YOU @POTUS !!!! Woke & radical Librarian of Congress Carla Hayden has been fired,” it said on X.
