IP Law Daily, CONGRESS—House advances bill to give President appointment power over Register of Copyrights, (Jun 9, 2026)
“Legislative Branch Agencies Clarification Act” would assert congressional control over Librarian of Congress and GPO Director, while recognizing the Copyright Office’s “executive-like” functions.
Legislation to revise the procedures for appointing and removing the Librarian of Congress, the Director of the Government Publishing Office (GPO), and the Register of Copyrights passed the House by a voice vote on June 8. According to a press release from bill sponsor Representative H. Morgan Griffith (R-Va), the proposed “Legislative Branch Agencies Clarification Act” (H.R. 6028) would “reassert Congress’s Article I responsibilities as well as deliver clarity on the powers exercised by the Legislative and Executive Branches.” The legislation will next be considered by the Senate.
Librarian of Congress; GPO Director. The bill would require the Librarian of Congress and the Director of GPO to be appointed by a bipartisan congressional commission, based on procedures outlined by the bill and without regard to political affiliation. At present, these positions are appointed by the President with the advice and consent of the Senate. The measure would provide that the Librarian and the Director of GPO may only be removed from office by a majority vote of the majority and minority leaders of the House of Representatives and the Senate. The bill also requires the Librarian and the Director of GPO to each appoint a deputy.
Register of Copyrights. Conversely, the legislation, if enacted, would increase Presidential power over the Copyright Office, despite its status as part of the Library of Congress (LOC). It would eliminate the supervisory authority over the Copyright Office currently given to the LOC, and the Register of Copyrights—who heads the Office and currently is appointed by the Librarian—would be appointed by the President with the advice and consent of the Senate. The bill limits the term of office for the Register to 10 years, but the individual may be reappointed. The Register would have to be a U.S. citizen with experience in copyright law.
Additionally, the legislation would give the Register of Copyrights final decision-making authority over triennial rulemakings regarding exemptions to Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) prohibitions against circumvention of technological copyright protection systems (17 U.S.C. § 1201), removing the Librarian from the process.
At a House Administration Committee markup hearing on May 14, Rep. Griffith explained why the proposal treats the Register differently from the Librarian and GPO Director. “The Copyright Office performs executive like functions,” he said, “such as administrating copyright registrations and issuing regulations to reflect those responsibilities.”
Ongoing dispute. The unusual status of the Copyright Office as technically an arm of the legislative branch that also acts like an executive agency came to a head when President Trump fired Register Shira Perlmutter in May 2025. Perlmutter filed a lawsuit asserting that the executive lacked the authority to fire her. In September 2025, The U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit issued an injunction pending appeal reinstating Perlmutter as Register. Two of the three judges on the appellate court panel opined that “Perlmutter’s purported removal was likely unlawful.” They reasoned that 17 U.S.C. § 701(a) authorizes the Librarian of Congress, not the President, to appoint the Register. And, since the statute is silent regarding removal, the Librarian, not the President, had the power to remove Perlmutter. The Trump administration asked the U.S. Supreme Court to stay the injunction. The Court deferred taking action on the request, pending the Court’s forthcoming decisions in Trump v. Slaughter, No. 25-332, and Trump v. Cook, No. 25A312. Both of those cases involve the extent of the President’s power to remove executive officers. For now, Perlmutter remains in place as Register of Copyrights.
Criticism.Re:Create, a coalition of groups advocating for “balanced copyright and a free and open internet”—including the American Association of Law Libraries, the Open Technology Institute, the Electronic Frontier Foundation, and the Consumer Technology Association—expressed its opposition to the legislation in a statement. “By removing the Copyright Office from the Library of Congress, H.R. 6028 threatens to upend a system that has protected and supported American creativity and ingenuity for centuries,” said Executive Director Brandon Butler. “Maintaining institutional unity through challenges such as emerging AI policy and DMCA rulemakings is vital to ensuring copyright evolution remains balanced, accessible, and ready to support the next generation of creators and tech innovators.”
Re:Create also criticized the bill’s changes to the DMCA rulemaking procedure. “The rulemaking process was designed to bring multiple agencies together to represent the interests of different stakeholders, with the Librarian acting as a final arbiter,” it said. “The Copyright Office has a leading role in the process, but the NTIA [National Telecommunications and Information Administration] is also required by statute to participate and to provide its opinions on proposed exemptions.” According to Re:Create, the NTIA has supported new exemptions more often than the Register. “The Librarian has mostly sided with the Register, but there is at least a possibility that the Librarian could choose to ratify the NTIA’s views on a subject,” Re:Create said. “With the Librarian out of the picture, the NTIA’s role becomes more tenuous. That would be a blow to balance in the copyright system.”
The Library Copyright Alliance—a joint initiative of the American Library Association, the Association of Research Libraries, and the Association of College and Research Libraries—expressed concerns in December 2025 about ending the Library of Congress’s supervisory authority over the Copyright Office. “Proposals to sever the Copyright Office from the Library of Congress may interfere with the deposit of copies of works, which has contributed significantly to the development of the library’s national collection,” the organization said. The alliance also asserted that the measure was ambiguous. “The bill does not specify whether the Copyright Office would become an executive branch agency, or remain a legislative branch agency with executive functions,” it said, adding, “It is essential that the Copyright Office reflect the interests of all US stakeholders, without bias.”
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