President Donald Trump fired Librarian of Congress Carla Hayden via email on Thursday, with no reason given for her dismissal, the Associated Press reports.
Hayden received an email from the White House Presidential Personnel Office reading, “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. Thank you for your service.” The New York Times reports that the email came from Trent Morse, the deputy director of presidential personnel.
Hayden was appointed as the 14th Librarian of Congress in 2016 by then President Barack Obama and was confirmed by the U.S. Senate in a 74-18 vote. She was the first woman and the first Black person to hold the position.
Previously, she was the CEO of Baltimore’s Enoch Pratt Free Library and the president of the American Library Association.
The AP reports that on the social platform X, the right-wing American Accountability Foundation posted, “The current #LibrarianOfCongress Carla Hayden is woke, anti-Trump, and promotes trans-ing kids. It’s time to get her OUT and hire a new guy for the job!” The post came shortly before Hayden’s firing was made public.
U.S. House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries issued a statement on Hayden’s firing, saying, “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. The Library of Congress is the People’s Library. There will be accountability for this unprecedented assault on the American way of life sooner rather than later.”
Michael Schaub is a contributing writer.
