The President has named a new Acting Librarian of Congress. It’s his former defense lawyer.
Todd Blanche, the Deputy Attorney General of the United States, has been appointed as the acting Librarian of Congress by President Trump, according to an employee at the Librarian of Congress, who asked not to be identified for fear of retribution.
The permanent post of Librarian of Congress must be confirmed by the Senate.
Blanche has no experience working in libraries or archives, according to his public profile. Now he will be running the largest one in the world. As a lawyer, he has focused on investigations and criminal litigation, including work for the President. Blanche served as one of Trump’s personal lawyers, leading the defense in last year’s criminal trial in which the President was found guilty of 34 felony counts of falsifying business records to conceal a payment to an adult film star.
Although no public announcement has yet been made, NPR confirmed reports of the appointment with the source who is knowledgeable about the oldest federal cultural institution in the United States.
That employee said men showed up this morning with a letter saying that Blanche was appointed the acting Librarian of Congress, Brian Nieves was appointed acting assistant librarian, and Paul Perkins was appointed the acting Register of Copyrights and Director of the Copyright Office. The men were not allowed into offices and left soon after, the employee said, adding that the Library of Congress is a legislative branch agency, and has not yet received direction from Congress on how to move forward.
Last Thursday, Trump fired the former Librarian of Congress, Carla Hayden. She had been targeted by conservative groups who accused her of promoting “wokeness.” Hayden was the 14th person to hold the post and the first professional librarian to hold the post since 1974.
NPR has reached out to the Library of Congress and the Justice Department and has not received a response.
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