On Thursday, President Donald Trump fired Library of Congress head Carla Hayden in a move that has left Democrats fuming.
Hayden, who is the first woman and Black Librarian of Congress, received an email from the White House’s Presidential Personnel Office letting her know she had been released from her role in the final hours of the day.
“Carla,” the email began. “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.”
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In 2016, 72-year-old Hayden was nominated by ex-President Barack Obama and confirmed by the Senate to lead the nation’s oldest federal cultural institution.
Hayden’s term of a decade was set to expire in 2026, that is, until her abrupt firing by Donald Trump on Thursday evening.
According to The Post, a spokesperson for the Library of Congress confirmed that the White House told Hayden, who had been in charge of Baltimore’s library system for many years before becoming the Librarian of Congress, that she was fired.
The unexpected decision reportedly follows accusations from conservative groups that Hayden promoted books of children with “radical” leftist agendas.
“The current #LibrarianOfCongress Carla Hayden is woke, anti-Trump, and promotes trans-ing kids,” the American Accountability Foundation tweeted earlier Thursday, just hours before the firing was made public. “It’s time to get her OUT and hire a new guy for the job!”
Democrats are clearly far from pleased about the move, but have however credited Hayden for her ability in helping to modernize the Library and making it more accessible through initiatives in online and rural communities.
Hakeem Jeffries, who is House Minority Leader lauded Hayden as “an accomplished, principled and distinguished Librarian of Congress.”
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“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,” he continued.
“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,” he concluded.
Carla Hayden was also called “an American hero” hero by Rep. Joseph Morelle of New York, the top Democrat on the House Administration Committee that oversees the Library, called Hayden.
The Congress Library contains a collection of the country’s books and history available to the public as well as lawmakers.
In addition, it houses the papers of close to two dozen presidents and more than three dozen Supreme Court justices.
