NEW YORK (AP) 鈥� Outgoing U.S. poet laureate and her two immediate predecessors, and , are condemning of Librarian of Congress , who had appointed each of them to their positions.
鈥淒r. Carla Hayden is the kindest, brightest, most generous Librarian of Congress we could have hoped for as a nation," Lim贸n, 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.鈥�
The library, an outgrowth of Thomas Jefferson's personal book collection, holds a vast archive of the nation鈥檚 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.鈥�
鈥淭here 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鈥檛 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.鈥�
, 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 鈥渢ake political positions in their official capacity while serving as laureate,鈥� 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 鈥渨oke鈥� and 鈥渁nti-Trump.鈥� Her ouster continues the Trump administration's wave of actions against Washington cultural institutions, from the to the
Harjo, the laureate from 2019 to 2022, called her firing 鈥渟hocking news鈥� and added that she 鈥渇ound 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.鈥�
鈥淗er reputation will stand through time,鈥� 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 鈥渆ngage communities nationwide with the joys and the power of poetry in all its forms.鈥�
鈥淗er abrupt firing suggests a desire to tamp down the ceiling on our collective remembering and deprive the collective imagination of vital resources," Smith wrote.
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Associated Press writer Chris Megerian in Washington contributed to this report.
Hillel Italie, The Associated Press
