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The ex- leader's administration on Monday petitioned the US Supreme Court to allow the removal of the head of the American copyright authority.

This urgent request comes about a month and a half after a federal appellate court in Washington ruled that the official, Shira Perlmutter, could not be solely fired.

Almost one month prior, the full District of Columbia appeals court refused to reconsider that ruling.

This case is the most recent in a series of disputes concerning executive power to appoint preferred leaders at government offices.

The High Court has generally allowed such actions, even as legal challenges continue.

However, this specific matter concerns an office inside the Library of Congress. Perlmutter serves as the register of copyrights and also advises the legislature on copyright issues.

The solicitor general, D John Sauer, argued in the legal document that, despite connections to Congress, the director “exercises executive power” in overseeing intellectual property rights.

Perlmutter claims she was fired in May because the former president disagreed with advice she provided to Congress in a report related to artificial intelligence.

She allegedly received an message from the White House notifying her that her role was “ended effective at once,” as stated by her office.

A divided appeals court group decided that Perlmutter could keep her job while the case moves forward.

“The Executive's claimed obvious meddling with the duties of a congressional official, as she performs legally authorized responsibilities to advise the legislature, strikes us as a violation of the separation of powers,” wrote Justice Florence Pan for the appellate panel.

Judge J Michelle Childs supported the opinion. Both justices were nominated to the appellate court by Democrat President Joe Biden.

In opposition, Judge Justin Walker, a former president's nominee, argued that Perlmutter “uses executive power in a host of manners.”

Perlmutter's lawyers have contended that she is a well-known copyright specialist. She has acted as register of copyrights since ex- head librarian Carla Hayden appointed her to the role in October 2020.

The former president appointed assistant attorney general Todd Blanche to succeed Hayden at the Library of Congress. The administration had fired Hayden amid complaints from right-leaning groups that she was advancing a “woke” agenda.