The Congressional Black Caucus (CBC) issued a sharp rebuke of President Trump’s decision to fire Librarian of Congress Carla Hayden, accusing the administration of waging a war on truth.
Rep. Yvette Clarke (D-N.Y.), chair of the caucus, said Hayden’s firing was “callous” and should not be taken lightly.
“This decision is the latest move in the Trump Administration’s ongoing war against truth and our democratic values,” Clarke said in a statement. “To make matters worse, the administration will likely attempt to replace Dr. Hayden with an unqualified sycophant who is more committed to Donald Trump than the independence of the institution.”
She continued: “We cannot allow the Trump Administration to whitewash our history and replace facts with fiction. This decision cannot stand without explanation.”
Hayden, confirmed in 2016, was the first woman and the first African American to be librarian of Congress. Her term was set to expire next year.
“Libraries are the great equalizer,” Hayden said in a video posted to social media during National Library Week last month. Free public libraries, she added, create an “opportunity center for people of all walks of life, and you are giving them the opportunity to make choices on which information, entertainment and inspiration means the most to them.”
But the conservative American Accountability Foundation, which has thrown its support behind Trump, had accused Hayden of being “woke, anti-Trump” and someone who “promotes trans-ing kids.”
“It’s time to get her OUT and hire a new guy for the job!” the group posted on social media, just hours before Hayden’s firing was made public. The group also suggested appointing Secretary of State Marco Rubio to the position.
Later, the organization responded to the news with “Thank you @POTUS.”
In addition to the CBC, other Democratic leaders also expressed outrage over Hayden’s firing.
House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) called the termination an “unjust decision.” He added that the email sent to Hayden by “a random political hack is a disgrace and the latest in his ongoing effort to ban books, whitewash American history and turn back the clock.”
The CBC said it is now calling on every Republican to “stand up and defend the integrity of the Library of Congress.”
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