US poets laureate criticize Trump's firing of Librarian of Congress Carla Hayden
NEW YORK (AP) — Outgoing U.S. poet laureate Ada Limón and her two immediate predecessors, Joy Harjo and Tracy K. Smith, are condemning President Donald Trump's firing of Librarian of Congress Carla Hayden, who had appointed each of them to their positions.
'Dr. Carla Hayden is the kindest, brightest, most generous Librarian of Congress we could have hoped for as a nation,' Limón, who last month completed a three-year run as poet laureate, said in a statement on Friday.
'She promoted books, libraries, and curiosity while dedicating herself to serving both sides of the aisle with genuine grace. I am heartbroken as the cruelty of this administration continues with seemingly no end in sight. She is the best of us and deserves the utmost respect. I hope people are paying attention. What we once feared is already happening.'
The library, an outgrowth of Thomas Jefferson's personal book collection, holds a vast archive of the nation's books and history.
Hayden, whose 10-year term was scheduled to end next year, was notified late Thursday that she had been fired, according to an email obtained by The Associated Press.
On Friday, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said that Hayden 'did not meet the needs of the American people.'
'There were quite concerning things at the Library of Congress in the pursuit of DEI, and putting inappropriate books in the library for children,' Leavitt told reporters during a briefing. 'And we don't believe she was serving the interest of the American taxpayer well, so she has been removed from her position, and the president is well within his rights to do that.'
Confirmed by the Senate in 2016, Hayden was the first woman and the first African American to be the librarian of Congress. U.S. poets laureate are employees of the Library of Congress, generally serve one to three years in the role and may not 'take political positions in their official capacity while serving as laureate,' according to the library's website.
Hayden had been expected to announce a new poet laureate over the summer.
Hayden, appointed by President Barack Obama, had been labeled by the conservative American Accountability Foundation as 'woke' and 'anti-Trump.' Her ouster continues the Trump administration's wave of actions against Washington cultural institutions, from the Kennedy Center to the National Endowment for the Arts.
Harjo, the laureate from 2019 to 2022, called her firing 'shocking news' and added that she 'found her to be steadfast with good humor as she took excellent care of an institution established close to the founding of the country as a resource for all of its citizens.'
'Her reputation will stand through time,' Harjo wrote in an email to the AP.
Smith, who served from 2017 to 2019, told the AP in an email that Hayden had sought poets such as herself who 'engage communities nationwide with the joys and the power of poetry in all its forms.'
'Her abrupt firing suggests a desire to tamp down the ceiling on our collective remembering and deprive the collective imagination of vital resources,' Smith wrote.
___
Associated Press writer Chris Megerian in Washington contributed to this report.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
CNN
36 minutes ago
- CNN
About 700 Marines being mobilized in response to LA protests
More than 700 Marines based out of the Marine Corps Air Ground Combat Center in California have been mobilized to respond to the protests in Los Angeles, and the troops will join the thousands of National Guard members who were activated by President Donald Trump over the weekend without the consent of California's governor or LA's mayor. The deployment of the full Marine battalion marks a significant escalation in Trump's use of the military as a show of force against protesters, but it is still unclear what their specific task will be once in LA, sources told CNN. Like the National Guard troops, they are prohibited from conducting law enforcement activity such as making arrests unless Trump invokes the Insurrection Act, which permits the president to use the military to end an insurrection or rebellion of federal power. The Marines being activated are with 2nd battalion, 7th Marines, 1st Marine division, according to US Northern Command. The activation is 'intended to provide Task Force 51 with adequate numbers of forces to provide continuous coverage of the area in support of the lead federal agency,' NORTHCOM said in statement, referring to US Army north's contingency command post. One of the people familiar with the Marine mobilization said they will be augmenting the guard presence on the ground in LA. Over 2,000 members of the California National Guard have been activated by the president, but only about 300 have been deployed to the streets of LA so far. Those initial 300 people were on a routine National Guard drill weekend when they were mobilized, which is why they were able to arrive so quickly, the person familiar said; it can take up to 72 hours for other guardsmen to be mobilized. The Marines are expected to bolster some of the guard members who have been deployed to LA in the last two days, this person said. And while the person familiar stressed that the Marines were being deployed only to augment the forces already there, the image of US Marines mobilizing inside the United States will stand in contrast to National Guardsmen who more routinely respond to domestic issues. While some Marines have been assisting in border security at the southern border, one US official said Marines have not been mobilized within the US like they are in California now since the 1992 riots in Los Angeles. While the Marines' tasks have not been specified publicly, they could include assignments like crowd control or establishing perimeter security. Lawyers within the Defense Department are also still finalizing language around the use-of-force guidelines for the troops being mobilized, but the person familiar said it will likely mirror the military's standing rules of the use of force. California Gov. Gavin Newsom described the involvement of Marines as 'unwarranted' and 'unprecedented.' 'The level of escalation is completely unwarranted, uncalled for, and unprecedented — mobilizing the best in class branch of the U.S. military against its own citizens,' Newsom said in a statement linking to a news story about the Marines mobilizing. Newsom disputed the characterization as a 'deployment,' which the governor described as different from mobilization. US Northern Command said in their statement, however, that the Marines will 'seamlessly integrate' with National Guard forces 'protecting federal personnel and federal property in the greater Los Angeles area.' Los Angeles Police Chief Jim McDonnell called for 'open and continuous lines of communication' between all agencies responding to protests in the city ahead of the deployment of US Marines. McDonell said in a statement that his agency and other partner agencies have experience dealing with large-scale demonstrations and safety remains a top priority for them. That communication will 'prevent confusion, avoid escalation, and ensure a coordinated, lawful, and orderly response during this critical time,' McDonnell stressed. This story and headline have been updated with additional developments.
Washington Post
44 minutes ago
- Washington Post
700 Marines deployed to L.A. as immigration protests continue
The Pentagon on Monday ordered a battalion of 700 Marines to Los Angeles as protests of the Trump administration's immigration policies spilled into a fourth day, escalating a confrontation between the White House and the country's most populous state. The Marines, summoned from an infantry unit typically trained for overseas warfare, will assist more than 300 National Guard members President Donald Trump deployed to the city over the weekend, the first wave of roughly 2,100 activated so far for the mission, according to the Defense Department. The deployments follow demonstrations against immigration raids that at times turned violent.
Bloomberg
an hour ago
- Bloomberg
LA Clashes Escalate as Trump, Newsom Spar
"Balance of Power: Late Edition" focuses on the intersection of politics and global business. On today's show, David Leopold, Former President of the American Immigration Lawyers Association, discusses the legal implications of the Los Angeles protests escalation. Rep. Darrell Issa (R) California discusses why he believes the Trump Administration having the National Guard and Marines deployed in Los Angeles to put a stop to the protests is not an encroachment on state's rights. Melanie Hart, Senior Director at the Atlantic Council's Global China Hub, weighs in on what to expect from a second day of trading talks between the United States and China. (Source: Bloomberg)
