In a move emblematic of his broader campaign to purge federal institutions of leftwing wokeness, President Donald Trump abruptly dismissed Carla Hayden, the Librarian of Congress, on Thursday. The firing, delivered via a curt email from the White House Presidential Personnel Office, marked the premature end of Hayden’s tenure as the first woman and first African American to hold the post.
Appointed by President Obama in 2016 to a 10-year term, she was notified that her service was “terminated effective immediately,” according to The Associated Press.
The ouster followed intensifying criticisms accusing Hayden of pushing radical ideologies and gender theory for kids through Library of Congress programs. The group’s inflammatory rhetoric—echoed widely on social media—charged Hayden with politicizing the Library’s collections and championing diversity, equity, and inclusion at taxpayer expense. Some went so far as to allege mismanagement and improper handling of historical artifacts, though few specifics were substantiated. One widely shared post accused her of “lying to Congress” during her 2016 confirmation.
Conservatives also resurfaced Hayden’s two-decade-old opposition to the USA PATRIOT Act, citing her leadership at the American Library Association in 2003–2004, when she publicly denounced Section 215—provisions that allowed the FBI to access library records, noted The Washington Post. Critics characterized this as a troubling stance against national security, revisiting debates long settled in the public eye. Others attacked her resistance to the Children’s Internet Protection Act, arguing that her skepticism toward mandated internet filters reflected “disregard for child safety.”
Democrats wasted no time condemning the firing, which they always do. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer called Hayden “a scholar and a steward of American culture,” and demanded congressional oversight over future appointments. Rep. Rosa DeLauro labeled the action “callous and politically motivated,” while House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries warned it was part of a broader campaign by Trump to “ban books and whitewash history.” Rep. Joseph Morelle, a key voice on the House Administration Committee, went further, calling Hayden “an American hero” whose dismissal represents “a direct attack on the cultural foundations of the republic.”
Robert Newlen, the Library’s principal deputy, will serve as acting Librarian until a permanent successor is named.
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