President Donald Trump abruptly fired Carla Hayden, the Librarian of Congress, on Thursday, marking the latest in a string of high-profile dismissals by the administration and prompting immediate backlash from lawmakers and library advocates across the country.
In an email obtained by NBC News, Trent Morse, deputy director of presidential personnel, delivered the news to Hayden on behalf of the president: “Your position as the Librarian of Congress is terminated effective immediately.” A spokesperson for the Library of Congress later confirmed the termination.
Robert Newlen, the institution’s Principal Deputy Librarian, informed staff shortly afterward that he would assume duties as Acting Librarian of Congress “until further instruction.”
Hayden, appointed by former President Barack Obama in 2016 and confirmed in a bipartisan 74–18 Senate vote, made history as the first woman and first African American to lead the Library of Congress in its 225-year existence. She was also the first Librarian to serve under the 10 year term limit enacted by Congress in 2015. Her term was due to expire in 2026.
Prior to her appointment, Hayden was widely respected as the CEO of the Enoch Pratt Free Library in Baltimore, where she championed community outreach and digital modernization. During testimony before Congress earlier this week, Hayden outlined her work transforming the Library’s outdated infrastructure, streamlining processes, and expanding public access.
Her sudden ousting came just days after she testified before both the Senate Appropriations and House Administration Committees, an action that echoes the dismissal of Cameron Hamilton, the acting FEMA director, who was fired under similar circumstances earlier this week.
Democrats swiftly condemned the decision, accusing the former president of politically motivated retaliation.
“Dr. Carla Hayden has spent her entire career serving the public, from helping children learn to read to preserving our nation’s most important records,” said Rep. Joe Morelle (D-N.Y.), the ranking member on the House Administration Committee. He pledged to introduce legislation to transfer appointment power from the president to Congress.
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) echoed the sentiment, calling the firing “a continuation of Trump’s reality TV approach to governance” and urged Congress to reclaim oversight over the position. “We must assert our congressional prerogative,” he stated, “by making the Librarian of Congress appointed by a Congressional commission not by presidents that treat federal appointments like prizes.”
House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) didn’t mince words either. “Donald Trump’s unjust decision to fire Dr. Hayden in an email sent by a random political hack is a disgrace,” he said. “This is part of his campaign to ban books, whitewash American history, and turn back the clock.”
Fueling the controversy is the involvement of the conservative nonprofit American Accountability Foundation, which had targeted Hayden in recent days for allegedly promoting “radical gender ideology” and “woke politics” within the Library. The group praised her removal, posting triumphantly on X: “THANK YOU @POTUS !!!! Woke & radical Librarian of Congress Carla Hayden has been fired.”
As the dust settles, questions remain about the future direction of the Library of Congress, the independence of federal cultural institutions, and the politicization of nonpartisan roles.
Hayden has not yet publicly commented on her termination.
