Two Justice Department officials were denied access to the Library of Congress on Monday, causing a brief standoff on Capitol Hill.
The two officials—Paul Perkins, an associate deputy attorney general, and Brian Nieves, a deputy chief of staff and senior policy counsel—were seeking access to the U.S. Copyright Office but were denied entry at around 9 a.m., sources who spoke on the condition of anonymity told The New York Times.
The pair had brought a letter from the White House declaring that they were going to be serving in two top positions at the library under Todd Blanche’s leadership and recommendation. Blanche, the deputy attorney general, was named acting librarian of Congress by President Donald Trump on Monday—an appointment that would have to be confirmed by the Senate.
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The letter reportedly declared that Perkins would be acting as register of copyrights and director of the Copyright Office, while Nieves would be the acting deputy librarian, according to The Times.
Library staff members called U.S. Capitol Police, however the two Justice Department officials left willingly after General Counsel Meg Williams asked them to leave and reiterated they were not allowed access to the Copyright Office.
Representatives at the Justice Department and Library of Congress did not immediately respond to the Daily Beast‘s request for comment.
The president launched an overhaul of the library last week after dismissing former Librarian of Congress Carla Hayden on Thursday. He then proceeded to fire the director of the Copyright Office Shira Perlmutter over the weekend, according to several reports.
Despite Trump’s appointment of Blanche, library staff have reportedly been recognizing Robert Newlen as their interim replacement instead, according to The Times’ sources. Newlen was principal deputy librarian and Hayden’s second-in-command.
Staff seem to be waiting for direction from Congress, with Newlen additionally sending an email to employees saying he did not recognize Blanche’s appointment as valid, according to Politico.
The terminations have sparked an outcry from House Democrats including Rep. Joe Morelle, who described Trump’s termination of Perlmutter in particular as a “brazen, unprecedented power grab with no legal basis” in a statement Saturday.
Perlmutter was laid off from the Copyright Office after publishing a report on the contentions between artificial intelligence and fair use.
Blanche, meanwhile, was Trump’s lead defense lawyer during his Manhattan criminal trial last year.
