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Librarian of Congress was from Florida, and she was fired by Trump. Here's why

Librarian of Congress was from Florida, and she was fired by Trump. Here's why

Yahoo12-05-2025
President Donald Trump fired longtime Librarian of Congress and Tallahassee native Carla Hayden on May 8, reportedly due to her focus on diversity, equity and inclusion.
Hayden, both the first Black American and the first woman to head the library, holds a PhD in library sciences and was nominated to the post in 2016 by then-President Barack Obama. She was questioned by Congress earlier in the week over a library modernization project that was running late and over budget. Trump had her fired via email late in the day.
The day before, the nonprofit American Accountability Foundation, a conservative group dedicated to protecting Trump's "America First" initiatives, posted on X, "The current #LibrarianOfCongress Carla Hayden is woke, anti-Trump, and promotes trans-ing kids. It's time to get her OUT and hire a new guy for the job!" with a clip of Secretary of State Marco Rubio joking that it would be a good job.
Hayden was serving a 10-year term as the Librarian of Congress and would have been up for reappointment next year.
The library's collection is intended to include the "world's most comprehensive record of human creativity and knowledge" and preserves millions of books, films, photos and manuscripts.
Since his inauguration day, Trump has repeatedly targeted programs and people he considers improperly advancing diversity, equity and inclusion efforts.
"We felt she did not fit the needs of the American people," White House spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt told reporters. "There were quite concerning things that she had done at the Library of Congress in the pursuit of DEI and putting inappropriate books in the library for children."
The Library of Congress is a research library and does not operate as a lending library, although members of the public who are 16 years of age and older may use books while on the premises. It is also the home to the U.S. Copyright Office.
Some possible reasons for Hayden's dismissal:
Hayden appeared before a Congressional committee earlier in the week, facing questions from a library modernization project whose cost has ballooned while completion deadlines have been repeatedly delayed.
Hayden had been leading the "Of the People" initiative to bring more works from Black, indigenous, Hispanic or Latino, Asian American and Pacific Islander and other communities of color into the library's collections.
On May 8, the American Accountability Foundation pushed for Hayden's firing and posted later, thanking Trump for removing a "woke and radical Librarian of Congress."
In March, the Library released a study examining the copyright law and policy issues raised by artificial intelligence (AI) programs using copyrighted materials in their training. The study advised against compulsory usage in publishing contracts in favor of voluntary contracts and opt-out mechanisms to protect copyright. Several of Trump's big donors, including megabillionaire Elon Musk, operate AI programs that have been accused of scanning copyrighted works without permission.
Several Democratic members of Congress criticized her firing.
"While President Trump wants to ban books and tell Americans what to read – or not to read at all, Dr. Hayden has devoted her career to making reading and the pursuit of knowledge available to everyone," New Mexico Sen. Martin Heinrich said in a statement.
"President Trump's ignorant decision will impact America's libraries, our copyrighted economic interests, and service to the American people by threatening support for Congress," Rep. Joe Morelle, a New York Democrat, posted to social media May 8.
Hayden was raised in New York, but she was born at Florida A&M University Hospital to Bruce Kennard Hayden Jr., a FAMU music professor and Colleen Hayden, a Tallahassee elementary school teacher and social worker. She gave the commencement address for FAMU's fall graduation in 2019.
She once told the Tallahassee Democrat she had a personal connection to the university and that it was a thrill to stand on the stage at Lee Hall where both her parents had once performed.
Hayen graduated from Roosevelt University with a degree in political science and African history and earned a Ph.D. in library science from the University of Chicago. She got her start telling stories to children with autism at the Chicago Public Library, working her way up until she became library services coordinator at Chicago's Museum of Science and Industry.
After five years, she moved to Pittsburgh to teach information sciences for four years before moving back to Chicago, where she was deputy commissioner and chief librarian of the Chicago Public Library from 1991 to 1993.
She was the CEO of Enoch Pratt Free Library in Baltimore, Maryland, from 1993 to 2016, and president of the American Library Association from 2003 to 2004.
In 2003. Ms. Magazine named her Woman of the Year for her public opposition to the parts of the Patriot Act that allowed the Department of Justice and the FBI to access library user records.
In 2016, former President Barack Obama, who had met Hayden in Chicago, nominated her to serve as the next Librarian of Congress. She was confirmed with a 74-18 vote and sworn in by Chief Justice of the United States John Roberts.
She has also written two books, "Venture into Cultures: A Resource Book of Multicultural Materials and Programs" and "A Frontier of Librarianship: Services for Children in Museums."
Contributing: James Call, USA TODAY NETWORK
This article originally appeared on Tallahassee Democrat: Trump fired Librarian of Congress Carla Hayden. Here's why
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Powell privately adamant that he will serve out his full term at the Fed
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Powell privately adamant that he will serve out his full term at the Fed

Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell has told multiple associates and allies that there's no chance he will bow to President Donald Trump's calls for him to resign, vowing to withstand several more months of the president's unprecedented, multi-pronged assault over Powell's refusal to lower interest rates. The top central banker has privately argued that he must stay put for more than just personal reasons — the fate of his chairmanship is now linked with that of the Fed's overall independence, according to people familiar with the discussions. He has said that stepping down now would undermine the institution's longstanding freedom from political interference. 'He feels very strongly that his responsibility is to maintain that independence,' said GOP Sen. Mike Rounds of South Dakota, who is among those who have personally questioned Powell over whether he might quit. 'I've asked him, and he says no, that would reduce the independence of the Federal Reserve.' Powell's determination to serve out his term through May 2026 ensures he will remain the target of a White House-led attacks on the Fed, which has faced intensifying pressure to cut interest rates. That coordinated effort has put the central bank's traditionally staid decision-making under intense scrutiny — and raised fresh concerns about the potential economic consequences of meddling with monetary policy for political purposes. A low-key economic expert who did a stint in the George H.W. Bush administration, Powell has earned a reputation over more than a decade at the Fed as studiously non-partisan 'straight shooter' who relies on reams of data to make decisions, according to people who worked with him. His detachment from day-to-day politics, despite what one of the people described as his moderately conservative learnings, helped Powell earn bipartisan support in the Senate when Trump nominated him to chair the Fed in 2017. But the no-frills approach that appealed to Trump in his first term has since become yet another strike against the Fed chair. The president has repeatedly bristled at Powell's unwillingness to engage with his calls to cut rates. And Powell's generally stoic personality has done little to win Trump over. 'I think he's terrible,' Trump said earlier this month. 'It's like talking to a chair. No personality.' Trump has ratcheted up his criticism in recent weeks, openly saying he hopes Powell resigns, accusing him of trying to damage his presidency and insulting him on a near-daily basis as 'stupid,' a 'numbskull' and 'truly one of my worst appointments.' Those attacks have been regularly amplified by Trump aides and close allies, who at some points have spread unfounded rumors that the Fed chair's resignation was imminent. The White House in recent weeks has spent significant time spotlighting the price tag of a renovation project at the Fed, launching investigations into the cost overruns for the $2.5 billion project and suggesting it could be a fireable offense. On Thursday, Trump sought to press the issue by traveling to the Fed to tour the construction, where Powell personally escorted him around. The Fed chair stood by as Trump advocated for rate cuts, at one point laughing awkwardly as the president slapped him on the back and said he'd 'love him to lower interest rates.' 'I just want to see one thing happen,' Trump said later. 'Interest rates have to come down.' Despite the criticism, Trump reiterated that he has no plans to fire Powell — his advisers have warned that doing so would tank the financial markets and spark an economic crisis. But Trump and his aides have instead sought to make Powell's tenure as painful as possible to undermine his credibility and potentially even drive him to quit. Trump allies have homed in on the Fed's pricey renovation, viewing it as a particularly potent weapon. (Trump has pushed his own renovations at the White House, albeit on a much smaller scale.) Still, his allies argue that they can use the Fed project to increase public pressure on Powell by contrasting the hefty spending on the Fed headquarters with everyday Americans' struggles to afford homes — something they point out could be alleviated if the central banker would cut interest rates. 'Every day that Jerome Powell is in Washington is a gift to the president,' said one Trump adviser, who likened the pressure campaign to boiling a frog. 'Either Jerome Powell leaps or he boils.' A Federal Reserve spokesman declined to comment for this article, pointing instead to Powell's prior public pledges to serve the entirety of his term. Yet for all the furor coming from the White House, Powell has indicated to associates that he's keeping his head down. Publicly, he's remained solely focused on carrying out the Fed's work setting monetary policy without consideration of the political reverberations. That approach appeared to pay off at least temporarily on Thursday, with Trump backing off his harshest rhetoric following a conversation with Powell during the Fed construction tour that he described as a 'very productive talk.' 'There's always Monday morning quarterbacks, I don't want to be that,' Trump said afterward, declining to criticize the renovations that he and his aides had previously described as a scandal. 'It got out of control, and that happens.' The détente may not hold much longer, with the Fed widely expected to hold rates steady next week and delay any shift in policy until the fall. That decision is likely to infuriate Trump, who has fixated on cutting rates as a way to further juice the economy ahead of next year's midterm elections. But in both private and public, Powell has shrugged off the political implications, emphasizing the need to stick solely to the economic considerations that have long guided the Fed. 'The best defense for the Fed is to get the policy right,' said Bill English, a Yale professor and former director of the Fed's division of monetary affairs. 'I feel sorry for the guy, but the best he can do at this point is hang tough and do the best job he can on monetary policy.' Outside of Trump's orbit, Powell's resolve to finish his term has won praise from Democrats — including many who had previously criticized him during the Biden era when the Fed kept raising rates to try to combat a surge of inflation. At the time, Powell's insistence on keeping rates higher for longer in pursuit of a so-called economic soft landing prompted consternation among some in the Biden White House and the broader Democratic Party who worried the approach would tip the country into a recession. But former officials have since rallied around him, anxious over the potential fallout should Powell decide to leave. 'He's putting the integrity of the institution above himself,' said Jared Bernstein, who chaired the Biden-era Council of Economic Advisers. 'If I were a 72-year-old guy who's getting verbally abused by the president on a daily basis, retirement would look pretty good. But I really believe that Powell is engaged in protecting the institution.' As for Republicans, some lawmakers wary of damaging the Fed's credibility have encouraged the White House to back off its criticisms, arguing that it'll benefit Trump more when Powell does begin lowering interest rates if it doesn't come amid a cloud of political pressure. Yet until that message breaks through, they're putting their faith in Powell — and hoping he stays true to his word. 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Republicans in Congress head home to angry voters. So much for summer break.
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Powell privately adamant that he will serve out his full term at the Fed
Powell privately adamant that he will serve out his full term at the Fed

CNN

time3 minutes ago

  • CNN

Powell privately adamant that he will serve out his full term at the Fed

Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell has told multiple associates and allies that there's no chance he will bow to President Donald Trump's calls for him to resign, vowing to withstand several more months of the president's unprecedented, multi-pronged assault over Powell's refusal to lower interest rates. The top central banker has privately argued that he must stay put for more than just personal reasons — the fate of his chairmanship is now linked with that of the Fed's overall independence, according to people familiar with the discussions. He has said that stepping down now would undermine the institution's longstanding freedom from political interference. 'He feels very strongly that his responsibility is to maintain that independence,' said GOP Sen. Mike Rounds of South Dakota, who is among those who have personally questioned Powell over whether he might quit. 'I've asked him, and he says no, that would reduce the independence of the Federal Reserve.' Powell's determination to serve out his term through May 2026 ensures he will remain the target of a White House-led attacks on the Fed, which has faced intensifying pressure to cut interest rates. That coordinated effort has put the central bank's traditionally staid decision-making under intense scrutiny — and raised fresh concerns about the potential economic consequences of meddling with monetary policy for political purposes. A low-key economic expert who did a stint in the George H.W. Bush administration, Powell has earned a reputation over more than a decade at the Fed as studiously non-partisan 'straight shooter' who relies on reams of data to make decisions, according to people who worked with him. His detachment from day-to-day politics, despite what one of the people described as his moderately conservative learnings, helped Powell earn bipartisan support in the Senate when Trump nominated him to chair the Fed in 2017. But the no-frills approach that appealed to Trump in his first term has since become yet another strike against the Fed chair. The president has repeatedly bristled at Powell's unwillingness to engage with his calls to cut rates. And Powell's generally stoic personality has done little to win Trump over. 'I think he's terrible,' Trump said earlier this month. 'It's like talking to a chair. No personality.' Trump has ratcheted up his criticism in recent weeks, openly saying he hopes Powell resigns, accusing him of trying to damage his presidency and insulting him on a near-daily basis as 'stupid,' a 'numbskull' and 'truly one of my worst appointments.' Those attacks have been regularly amplified by Trump aides and close allies, who at some points have spread unfounded rumors that the Fed chair's resignation was imminent. The White House in recent weeks has spent significant time spotlighting the price tag of a renovation project at the Fed, launching investigations into the cost overruns for the $2.5 billion project and suggesting it could be a fireable offense. On Thursday, Trump sought to press the issue by traveling to the Fed to tour the construction, where Powell personally escorted him around. The Fed chair stood by as Trump advocated for rate cuts, at one point laughing awkwardly as the president slapped him on the back and said he'd 'love him to lower interest rates.' 'I just want to see one thing happen,' Trump said later. 'Interest rates have to come down.' Despite the criticism, Trump reiterated that he has no plans to fire Powell — his advisers have warned that doing so would tank the financial markets and spark an economic crisis. But Trump and his aides have instead sought to make Powell's tenure as painful as possible to undermine his credibility and potentially even drive him to quit. Trump allies have homed in on the Fed's pricey renovation, viewing it as a particularly potent weapon. (Trump has pushed his own renovations at the White House, albeit on a much smaller scale.) Still, his allies argue that they can use the Fed project to increase public pressure on Powell by contrasting the hefty spending on the Fed headquarters with everyday Americans' struggles to afford homes — something they point out could be alleviated if the central banker would cut interest rates. 'Every day that Jerome Powell is in Washington is a gift to the president,' said one Trump adviser, who likened the pressure campaign to boiling a frog. 'Either Jerome Powell leaps or he boils.' A Federal Reserve spokesman declined to comment for this article, pointing instead to Powell's prior public pledges to serve the entirety of his term. Yet for all the furor coming from the White House, Powell has indicated to associates that he's keeping his head down. Publicly, he's remained solely focused on carrying out the Fed's work setting monetary policy without consideration of the political reverberations. That approach appeared to pay off at least temporarily on Thursday, with Trump backing off his harshest rhetoric following a conversation with Powell during the Fed construction tour that he described as a 'very productive talk.' 'There's always Monday morning quarterbacks, I don't want to be that,' Trump said afterward, declining to criticize the renovations that he and his aides had previously described as a scandal. 'It got out of control, and that happens.' The détente may not hold much longer, with the Fed widely expected to hold rates steady next week and delay any shift in policy until the fall. That decision is likely to infuriate Trump, who has fixated on cutting rates as a way to further juice the economy ahead of next year's midterm elections. But in both private and public, Powell has shrugged off the political implications, emphasizing the need to stick solely to the economic considerations that have long guided the Fed. 'The best defense for the Fed is to get the policy right,' said Bill English, a Yale professor and former director of the Fed's division of monetary affairs. 'I feel sorry for the guy, but the best he can do at this point is hang tough and do the best job he can on monetary policy.' Outside of Trump's orbit, Powell's resolve to finish his term has won praise from Democrats — including many who had previously criticized him during the Biden era when the Fed kept raising rates to try to combat a surge of inflation. At the time, Powell's insistence on keeping rates higher for longer in pursuit of a so-called economic soft landing prompted consternation among some in the Biden White House and the broader Democratic Party who worried the approach would tip the country into a recession. But former officials have since rallied around him, anxious over the potential fallout should Powell decide to leave. 'He's putting the integrity of the institution above himself,' said Jared Bernstein, who chaired the Biden-era Council of Economic Advisers. 'If I were a 72-year-old guy who's getting verbally abused by the president on a daily basis, retirement would look pretty good. But I really believe that Powell is engaged in protecting the institution.' As for Republicans, some lawmakers wary of damaging the Fed's credibility have encouraged the White House to back off its criticisms, arguing that it'll benefit Trump more when Powell does begin lowering interest rates if it doesn't come amid a cloud of political pressure. Yet until that message breaks through, they're putting their faith in Powell — and hoping he stays true to his word. 'The vast majority of the members of the Senate are smart enough to have been in contact with the markets, they've observed the markets, they know what an impact it would be on the markets should there be any inkling that the Fed was being coerced,' said Rounds, the Republican senator. '[Powell's] in the right position. He's got a very tough position, but I respect him for the position he's taken.'

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