Dr. Carla D. Hayden was the first African American and the first woman to serve as the head of the Library of Congress. Her firing drew a furious response from Democrats.
The Trump administration fired the librarian of Congress, Dr. Carla D. Hayden, on Thursday, drawing swift outcry from Democrats. Dr. Hayden was the first African American and first woman to serve as the head of the institution.
Dr. Hayden, appointed as the 14th librarian of Congress by President Barack Obama in 2016, had overseen the library through President Trump’s first term. The library, the oldest government-run cultural institution in the United States, only rarely gets a new leader. Dr. Hayden was its first since 1987.
She was fired in a two-sentence email from Trent Morse, the deputy director of White House personnel, according to a screenshot released by Senator Martin Heinrich of New Mexico, the top Democrat on the Appropriations Subcommittee on the Legislative Branch.
“On behalf of President Donald J. Trump, I am writing to inform you that your position as the Librarian of Congress is terminated effective immediately,” the email said, without citing a cause. “Thank you for your service.”
A spokesman for the Library of Congress, Roswell Encina, confirmed the firing. Reached by phone, Dr. Hayden, 72, declined to comment.
Representative Hakeem Jeffries of New York, the Democratic minority leader, issued a statement describing Dr. Hayden as an “accomplished, principled and distinguished” leader of the library.