Latest news with #AmericanAccountabilityFoundation
Yahoo
07-06-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Fired US librarian of Congress details callous dismissal in new interview
The first woman and African American to serve as the US librarian of Congress before Donald Trump fired her in May has not heard from the president's administration beyond the 31-word email it sent her with word of her dismissal, she has revealed in her first interview since her ouster. 'No one has talked to me directly at all from the White House,' Carla Hayden says in an interview airing on the upcoming CBS News Sunday Morning. 'I've received no communication directly, except for that one email. 'That's the only communication.' Hayden's comments to the CBS national correspondent Robert Costa provide a first-hand glimpse at the unceremonious way she was fired from a post to which the US Senate confirmed her in 2016. She had been thrust under political pressure by a conservative advocacy group that had pledged to drive out anyone deemed to be standing in the way of the Trump White House's rightwing agenda. That organization, the American Accountability Foundation (AAF), leveled accusations against Hayden and other library leaders that they had promoted children's books with 'radical content' as well as literature by opponents of the president. Hayden then received an email on 8 May that read: 'Carla, 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. Thank you for your service.' Asked by Acosta whether her tenure really ended 'with one missive that's electronic', Hayden replied: 'That was it.' She also remarked: 'I was never notified beforehand and after.' Hayden is one of numerous federal government officials whom Trump has dismissed upon having been convinced that they were not aligned with his second presidency's plans. Just hours before her firing became public, the AAF used its X account to insult her as 'woke' and 'anti-Trump'. 'It's time to get her OUT,' the AAF also said on X, in part. Congressional Democrats reacted with fury to Hayden's termination. New York's Chuck Schumer, the top US Senate Democrat, said Hayden was a 'trailblazer, a scholar and a public servant of the highest order'. The New York representative Joseph Morelle, the highest-ranking Democrat on the US House's administration committee, called Hayden 'an American hero'. 'Hayden has spent her entire career serving people – from helping kids learn to read to protecting some of our nation's most precious treasures,' said Morelle, whose committee oversees the congressional library. The Library of Congress sits across from the US Capitol in Washington DC. It holds a vast collection of the US's books and history, making it available to federal lawmakers as well as the public. It archives the papers of presidents and supreme court justices and has collections of rare books, images, music and artifacts. In 2022, Hayden arranged for the singer Lizzo to play one of those artifacts: a flute owned by James Madison, who was US president from 1809 to 1817.
The Guardian
07-06-2025
- Politics
- The Guardian
Fired US librarian of Congress details callous dismissal in new interview
The first woman and African American to serve as the US librarian of Congress before Donald Trump fired her in May has not heard from the president's administration beyond the 31-word email it sent her with word of her dismissal, she has revealed in her first interview since her ouster. 'No one has talked to me directly at all from the White House,' Carla Hayden says in an interview airing on the upcoming CBS News Sunday Morning. 'I've received no communication directly, except for that one email. 'That's the only communication.' Hayden's comments to the CBS national correspondent Robert Costa provide a first-hand glimpse at the unceremonious way she was fired from a post to which the US Senate confirmed her in 2016. She had been thrust under political pressure by a conservative advocacy group that had pledged to drive out anyone deemed to be standing in the way of the Trump White House's rightwing agenda. That organization, the American Accountability Foundation (AAF), leveled accusations against Hayden and other library leaders that they had promoted children's books with 'radical content' as well as literature by opponents of the president. Hayden then received an email on 8 May that read: 'Carla, 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. Thank you for your service.' Asked by Acosta whether her tenure really ended 'with one missive that's electronic', Hayden replied: 'That was it.' She also remarked: 'I was never notified beforehand and after.' Hayden is one of numerous federal government officials whom Trump has dismissed upon having been convinced that they were not aligned with his second presidency's plans. Just hours before her firing became public, the AAF used its X account to insult her as 'woke' and 'anti-Trump'. 'It's time to get her OUT,' the AAF also said on X, in part. Congressional Democrats reacted with fury to Hayden's termination. New York's Chuck Schumer, the top US Senate Democrat, said Hayden was a 'trailblazer, a scholar and a public servant of the highest order'. The New York representative Joseph Morelle, the highest-ranking Democrat on the US House's administration committee, called Hayden 'an American hero'. 'Hayden has spent her entire career serving people – from helping kids learn to read to protecting some of our nation's most precious treasures,' said Morelle, whose committee oversees the congressional library. The Library of Congress sits across from the US Capitol in Washington DC. It holds a vast collection of the US's books and history, making it available to federal lawmakers as well as the public. It archives the papers of presidents and supreme court justices and has collections of rare books, images, music and artifacts. In 2022, Hayden arranged for the singer Lizzo to play one of those artifacts: a flute owned by James Madison, who was US president from 1809 to 1817.
Yahoo
12-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Librarian of Congress was from Florida, and she was fired by Trump. Here's why
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
Fox News
12-05-2025
- Politics
- Fox News
'Nonpartisan' CBO's health division overwhelmingly staffed by Dems, GOP-aligned group says
EXCLUSIVE: A division of the Congressional Budget Office, the agency charged with providing budget and economic information to lawmakers, is stacked with liberal Democrats, putting into question its long-standing reputation of being nonpartisan. The American Accountability Foundation, a conservative government research nonprofit, found that much of the CBO's Health Analysis Division is made up of Democrats or Democratic donors. Of the 32 staff members in the division, 26 of them, or 84%, have "clearly" verified liberal partisan biases, being either a Democrat donor, a registered Democrat, or a Democratic primary voter, the group said in a memo outlining its findings, which come ahead of potential scrutiny of President Donald Trump's budget request. "The CBO likes to call itself 'nonpartisan' in an attempt to disguise its role as an undercover leftist think tank," AAF President Tom Jones said in a statement to Fox News Digital. "In fact, the CBO is institutionally progressive, with 84% of its professional healthcare staff members being registered Democrats. These same staff members, who are on record donating to radicals like Elizabeth Warren and Hillary Clinton, 'score' legislation and present it to the American people like it's sacrosanct." Jones accused the CBO staffers of not just voting left, but using their influence to promote progressive policy changes. "The Health Analysis Division has been overtaken by liberal group think," the memo states. "As policymakers consider pronouncements and scores from CBO over the coming weeks, they should regard those from the Health Care Analysis Division with deep suspicion and should likely disregard them as the product of a politically biased policy shop, much as they would analysis from an institution like the Center for American Progress." The HAD is tasked with analyzing federal programs and policies that include Medicare, Medicaid and subsidies provided through health insurance exchanges. Its staffers produce reports on policy issues and play a key role in certain estimates of proposed changes in health care programs, the CBO website states. The report noted that the CBO works to "cultivate" a reputation as a "non-partisan scorekeeper, just balls and strikes." That reputation is so entrenched, the AAF said, that 1,358 different news media stories in the last year alone have appended the word "nonpartisan" to the beginning of the office's name, reporting on the "nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office." "While the CBO has spun a narrative through the mainstream media that it's a neutral scorekeeper, it's one big gaslighting campaign to distract from the office's fundamentally progressive roots." Jones said. "They know the next few months with reconciliation are crucial and will do everything they can to slam and stall the Trump administration's policies." CBO employees are barred from engaging in political activity if it would "identify, or appear to identify, CBO with a political campaign, candidate, officeholder, or cause," its website states. "The specific positions taken are irrelevant; rather, the potential harm to CBO's reputation for objectivity comes from association with political activity or public advocacy," it adds. The agency doesn't hire employment candidates based on their political affiliation, it said. Research conducted by the group found that Health Analysis Director Chapin White is a Democratic donor, having given money to former Secretary of State John Kerry. White made a $300 donation to Kerry's failed presidential bid in 2004, according to Federal Election Commission data. White referred Fox News Digital to the CBO, which declined to comment. One analyst has donated to several Democratic elected officials, including former President Joe Biden and various members of Congress, according to the FEC. Many others are registered Democrats or have donated to Democratic pollical candidates, the think tank said. Much of the data gathered by the AAF was obtained through public campaign finance reporting agencies or from voter registration offices, noting that many CBO employees live in Virginia, which doesn't have partisan registration, the nonprofit said. Virginia also restricts access to voter history records via the state's Freedom of Information Act, making it challenging to ascertain whether voters cast ballots in Democratic or Republican primaries, it said. However, the AAF said it obtained Virginia voting history information from a trusted third-party source. "There were four staff members for whom AAF was unable to secure voting history or registration information," it said. "AAF strongly suspects if the staffers listed as 'Data on Definitive Partisan Bias Unavailable' were asked whether they vote in Democrat or Republican primaries (or if they had voted for Kamala Harris or Donald Trump) very few, if any, will respond that they are Republicans."
Yahoo
12-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Trump fires head of Copyright Office after firing Librarian of Congress
The Trump administration fired Shira Perlmutter from her post heading the U.S. Copyright Office, just days after booting the nation's Librarian of Congress, Carla Hayden. A spokesperson from the Copyright Office confirmed on Sunday that the White House sent Perlmutter an email on Saturday, saying, 'your position as the Register of Copyrights and Director at the U.S. Copyright Office is terminated effective immediately.' The move comes after President Trump fired Thursday Carla Hayden, the head of the Library of Congress, which oversees the Copyright Office. Hayden was the first woman and first African American to serve as Librarian of Congress. Hayden, who was confirmed to her post in 2016, tapped Perlmutter to head the Copyright Office in October 2020. Perlmutter had previously been a policy director at the Patent and Trademark Office, The Associated Press reported, and brought expertise in copyright and other areas of intellectual property. Perlmutter and Hayden both faced scrutiny from a conservative nonprofit, American Accountability Foundation (AAF), which called for their firings late last month. 'The President and his team have done an admirable and long-needed job cleaning out deep state liberals from the federal government. It is time they show Carla Hayden and Shira Perlmutter the door and return an America First agenda to the nation's intellectual property regulation,' AAF's president, Tom Jones, told the Daily Mail in late April. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
