The Clown Show: Librarian of Congress firing is latest upheaval of U.S. cultural institutions

By firing the Librarian of Congress Carla Hayden on Thursday night, President Trump continued his remaking of American cultural institutions. Hayden was the first woman and the first African American to hold the post. She was also the first person in the job to be term-limited. Her time was set to expire next year.

"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," said White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt on Friday.

The Library of Congress does a lot of things. It's the main research arm of the U.S. Congress. It houses the U.S. Copyright Office. It organizes the National Book Festival every year (which, full disclosure, has hosted NPR journalists). But it also houses a giant trove of books, films, recordings, manuscripts, newspapers, and more, making it one of the largest libraries in the world.

When Hayden first got the job in 2016, her main task was bringing the Library of Congress into the 21st century and digitizing the collection. It was a pretty big job, considering the Government Accountability Office had just published a report in 2015 with the headline: "Strong Leadership Needed to Address Serious Information Technology Management Weaknesses."

By most accounts, Hayden's work in strengthening the Library's digital infrastructure has been a success. At a hearing of the House Administration committee Tuesday, Republican Congressman Bryan Steil praised Hayden and her staff, saying they "dedicate a lot of time and service to the country and the Library of Congress, and their work should be commended."

Also this week, a number of senior staff at the National Endowment for the Arts left their posts. President Trump had previously proposed eliminating the NEA. Over the weekend, arts groups across the country got an email saying their grants from the National Endowment for the Arts had been canceled. It read, "The NEA is updating its grantmaking policy priorities to focus funding on projects that reflect the nation's rich artistic heritage and creativity as prioritized by the President."

This is just a portion of Trump's changes to arts institutions since he took office in January. He's also attempted to cut staff at the National Endowment for the Humanities, and the Institute of Museum and Library Services.