Two Trump administration DOJ officials who claimed to be assigned to the Library of Congress in acting leadership roles were turned away from its offices this morning, three sources familiar told NBC News.
The two, Brian Nieves, who said he was the acting deputy librarian, and Paul Perkins, who said he was the acting copyright registrar and director of the Copyright Office, arrived at 9 a.m. at the U.S. Copyright Office in the Madison Building and presented an email saying they were given the new roles, but the two were not allowed into the offices and left.
The two had also presented a letter saying that Todd Blanche, the current deputy attorney general, was being appointed to also be the acting librarian of Congress. The two left after speaking with library staff and security. U.S. Capitol Police say that they did not escort the two out of the building.
The attempt to install Blanche, Nieves, and Perkins comes amid questions about whether the Trump administration has any authority to do so because the Library of Congress is under the legislative branch, under which the executive has no authority to dictate staffing.
According to LinkedIn, Brian Nieves is the deputy chief of staff and senior counsel for policy at the Office of the Deputy Attorney General, and Paul Perkins is associate deputy attorney general at the DOJ.
The librarian of Congress is a role that the president has the authority to appoint, after which the Senate would have to confirm that nominee, but the president has no authority over the staffing under the librarian role, and it’s unclear if the president can place someone in an acting capacity while a nominee to fully take the role is being considered.
The person who is currently serving as the acting librarian of Congress, Robert Randolph Newlen, sent an email, which was obtained by NBC News, to Library of Congress staff this morning after Nieves and Perkins were turned away, and said, “You may have read that the White House has appointed a new acting Librarian. Currently, Congress is engaged with the White House, and we have not yet received direction from Congress about how to move forward. We will share additional information as we receive it.”
NBC News has reached out to relevant congressional offices, the DOJ and the White House to get their responses.
