GOP congressional leaders have stood aside the past four months as President Donald Trump has attacked legislative branch prerogatives — shuttering agencies, canceling federal grants and imposing sweeping tariffs.

President Donald Trump fired Carla Hayden, Librarian of Congress, via email at 6:56 p.m. ET on May 8, 2025. Critics are condemning his decision, which came after Hayden's appearance earlier this week before a Congressional committee, where she faced questions about a costly library modernization project.

The president named Todd Blanche, the deputy attorney general, as the acting librarian. But staff members refused access to two department officials he chose for key roles at Congress’s main research arm.