Does Trump have a legitimate First Amendment case?

Early last year President Trump fired the Librarian of Congress allegedly for her promotion of diversity, equity, and inclusion at the agency, amid a string of firings of top government officials appointed by prior presidents. But unlike with other firings, the Librarian of Congress runs an agency that primarily serves Congress, not the President. That’s a problem, and Republicans in the House quietly agreed. But another even more significant agency needs the same fix. That’s why this week we signed onto a letter to Congressional leaders about fixing the same issue at the Government Accountability Office.

Firing the Librarian of Congress

The power of the President to fire Congress’s top librarian poses a “threat that the Trump administration, or any future administration, could appoint a Librarian who would undermine Congress’s ability to receive trusted confidential advice on policymaking and have access to information resources necessary for policymaking,” our colleagues Daniel Schuman and Chris Nehls of the American Governance Institute wrote. “The Library of Congress is a vast legislative branch agency that provides confidential advice and research support to members of Congress,” they explained. (We wrote about this last year and again in June.)