Trump fires Library of Congress director

The Donald Trump administration has fired Carla D. Hayden as director of the Library of Congress, effectively the nation's national library. The news was reported by the New York Times on Thursday.

Hayden, who took office in September 2016 after being appointed by then-US President Barack Obama, is the first woman and the first black person to hold the position. She had about a year and a half left in her 10-year term.

According to the Times report, Hayden was informed of her dismissal in a two-sentence email. “On behalf of President Donald J. Trump, I am writing to inform you that your position as director of the Library of Congress is suspended, effective immediately. Thank you for your service,” the email reads, without providing a reason for the dismissal.

The Library of Congress in Washington rarely changes management: Hayden was the first since 1987. The US government-run cultural institution describes itself as “the world’s greatest library” and houses millions of books, films, sounds, photographs, newspapers, maps and manuscripts. Open to the public, it serves as a congressional research centre and is also the headquarters of the US Copyright Office.

The news of Hayden's resignation drew an immediate reaction from Democrats in Congress. "His firing is not only an affront to his historic service, but a direct attack on the independence of one of our most revered institutions," said Representative Rosa DeLauro in a statement sent to the US press.

“This is yet another example of the disturbing pattern in which the President removes dedicated public servants for no reason — likely to fill the position with one of his “cronies” who is unqualified and unconcerned about protecting America’s legacy,” DeLauro said . “This move undermines the fundamental principles of our democracy and erodes public trust in our institutions. The Trump administration must provide a transparent explanation for this decision.”

Since returning to the White House for a second term, Donald Trump has claimed power over several American cultural institutions.

In February, the US President took control of the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts , having purged a number of Joe Biden appointees, and the center's longtime president, Deborah F. Rutter, was fired.

In late March, Trump instructed JD Vance to remove anything he deemed “inappropriate” from the Smithsonian museums, as well as its educational and research centers. “ Restoring Truth and Sanity to American History” is the name of the executive order Trump signed to eliminate “anti-American ideology” from what is one of the world’s leading museum and educational complexes.

And in April, the U.S. administration placed on administrative leave all employees of the Institute of Museum and Library Services (ILMS), which provides grants and funding to U.S. libraries and museums.