We’re, with out query, one brisk step away from authoritarianism.
Together with his newest energy seize, Donald Trump has made it clear: nothing is sacred—not even the Library of Congress. What was as soon as a revered establishment of studying, recordkeeping, and nonpartisan analysis is now below siege by a person whose ambitions know no authorized or constitutional bounds.
Let’s be clear: the Library of Congress isn’t just a library. It’s a very important pillar of our legislative department, housing the Congressional Analysis Service (CRS), which gives confidential authorized and coverage evaluation for lawmakers, and the U.S. Copyright Workplace, which protects mental property.
It’s not only a constructing stuffed with books—it’s the mind belief of Congress. And Trump desires to personal it.
This hostile takeover started with an unlawful and abrupt try to fireplace Dr. Carla Hayden, the primary Black girl to function Librarian of Congress, properly earlier than her 10-year time period is up. In her place, Trump tried to put in Todd Blanche, his private prison protection lawyer and the present deputy lawyer basic, performing Librarian.
That alone ought to set off each alarm bell within the nation. Blanche isn’t a librarian. He’s not even a historian. He’s Trump’s fixer. The very thought of him overseeing an establishment devoted to goal reality and scholarly integrity is as absurd as it’s harmful.
And Congress is aware of it. Workers on the Library of Congress instantly pushed again, refusing to acknowledge Blanche’s appointment and alerting Capitol Police when two Justice Division officers tried to power their approach into the Copyright Workplace. In line with reviews, they arrived with a letter from the White Home claiming authority, however the Library’s employees stood their floor.
As a result of right here’s the reality: Trump can’t appoint an performing Librarian of Congress with out congressional approval. The Library of Congress is a legislative department company. It’s protected below Article I of the Structure—not topic to govt management. The Speech or Debate Clause explicitly shields congressional employees from govt interference. And but, Trump, in typical vogue, is bulldozing via the regulation in broad daylight.
This isn’t about DEI. This isn’t about “inappropriate books for youngsters.” The Library of Congress doesn’t even lend books to kids; it’s a analysis facility, not an area department. No, that is about energy.
Trump and his allies try to get their arms on a long time of delicate congressional inquiries, authorized analyses, and coverage suggestions held by the CRS. They’re trying to exfiltrate that information, simply as they’ve executed in different authorities companies, via Elon Musk’s so-called Division of Authorities Effectivity (DOGE). That is information that may very well be used to manipulate laws, intimidate lawmakers, and dismantle the legislative department from the within out.
Congressman Joseph Morelle (D-NY) and Senator Alex Padilla(D-Calif.) mentioned it greatest: it is a “power-hungry assault on the legislative department.” And nonetheless, many Republicans stay silent. Are they complicit? Confused? Or just too afraid to problem the authoritarian tide sweeping via the Capitol?
Trump’s want to “remake” the Library of Congress is a part of a broader mission: to put each department of presidency below his thumb. We’ve seen this earlier than. From attacking the judiciary, to undermining the press, to weaponizing the Division of Justice—Trump has persistently sought to consolidate energy. However this, this strikes on the very steadiness of our constitutional democracy. If the legislative department loses its autonomy, we now not have a functioning democracy—we have now a dictatorship in sluggish movement.
The compelled elimination of Shira Perlmutter, head of the Copyright Workplace, is equally alarming. Her solely crime—publishing a report warning tech corporations in regards to the authorized limits of scraping information for AI coaching. It wasn’t politically handy, so she was gone. Identical to that. And now, Trump’s persons are putting in loyalists to steer some of the influential cultural and authorized repositories on this planet towards partisan ends.
Make no mistake—this isn’t only a coup at a library. That is the federal authorities being dismantled, brick by brick, by a person who sees governance not as a service to the folks, however as a method of management. This can be a president who’s trying to erase the road between the chief and the legislative department, an act that’s not simply unprecedented—it’s unconstitutional.
The courts should act. Congress should act. The folks should act. As a result of if the Library of Congress falls, what’s subsequent, the Nationwide Archives? We have now already seen them try to whiten up the Smithsonian, however what’s really subsequent is your proper to know the reality.
We’re watching, in actual time, a democracy unravel. And if we don’t battle again—if we don’t defend establishments just like the Library of Congress from this authoritarian creep—we’ll get up someday and understand we now not reside in a democracy in any respect.
This isn’t nearly books. That is about energy, precedent, and whether or not we nonetheless consider within the rule of regulation. The Library of Congress was constructed to serve the folks, not the president. And nobody, not even Donald Trump, is above the Structure.
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