House lawmakers passed a bill Monday aimed at preventing future executive branch interference in some legislative branch agencies, a year after President Donald Trump fired the librarian of Congress.

It would allow House and Senate leaders to appoint the heads of both the Library of Congress and the Government Publishing Office, removing that power from the president. 

But the president would get new appointment authority over another role, the register of copyrights. Historically part of the Library of Congress, the Copyright Office has long drawn debate over its proper place.

The bill was passed by a voice vote. Now it heads to the Senate, where it would need enough bipartisan support to overcome a filibuster. 

“At its core, this bill is about ensuring that agencies of the legislative branch are governed in a manner consistent with our constitutional system, improving continuity in leadership and strengthening congressional oversight,” Rep. Morgan Griffith, R-Va., the lead sponsor, said on the floor Monday.

While the firing of Librarian Carla Hayden put the issue in the spotlight last year, Griffith said he was taking a longer view.

“I feel like doing that disclaimer at the end of a movie: This has nothing to do with any current or former librarians of Congress, or any current or former members of the White House,” he said at a House Administration Committee markup last month. 

It’s not the first time lawmakers have sought to change how heads of legislative branch agencies are hired and fired. In 2023, lawmakers approved a change that revoked the president’s power to appoint the architect of the Capitol, transferring that authority to Congress instead. 

And in 2017, Virginia Republican Rep. Bob Goodlatte, who was then chair of the House Judiciary Committee, proposed allowing the president to appoint the register of copyrights with input from a congressional panel and with the advice and consent of the Senate. In the past, the librarian of Congress has picked the head of the Copyright Office. That bill passed the House but stalled in the other chamber.

Proponents of splitting off the copyright office from the Library of Congress say it’s the right approach because much of its work is executive in nature. The office both advises Congress on intellectual property issues and administers copyright laws.

Goodlatte has remained engaged with the issue since leaving Congress and has lobbied on behalf of the Walt Disney Company around Griffith’s bill, according to disclosures. 

But not everyone is happy with the proposal, with some arguing it could potentially politicize copyright and artificial intelligence governance issues. After Trump ousted Hayden last May, he also moved to fire Register of Copyrights Shira Perlmutter, shortly after her office published a draft report warning about AI models being trained on copyrighted materials and the effects on fair use law. Perlmutter has challenged her firing in court. 

A number of technology, library and public interest groups have come out against the bill and its plan for the copyright office, saying it “threatens to upend a system that has protected and supported American creativity and ingenuity for centuries.” 

“Maintaining institutional unity through challenges such as emerging AI policy and DMCA rulemakings is vital to ensuring copyright evolution remains balanced, accessible, and ready to support the next generation of creators and tech innovators,” Brandon Butler, executive director of the Re:Create Coalition, said in a statement Monday. 

The coalition, which includes groups like the American Library Association and the Electronic Frontier Foundation, had previously written a letter to House Administration Committee members criticizing a lack of hearings on the topic.  

The bill was originally scheduled to get marked up in March, but was postponed until May while lawmakers worked to make changes to the text to gain Democratic support. House Administration ranking member Joseph D. Morelle, D-N.Y., said he was satisfied with the result and how the revised bill “establishes a transition period and allows the Copyright Office  . . .  to continue using library support services.” 

While Griffith said he would be open to revisiting the Copyright Office in the future, he wants to  “get this bill done.”

“Everybody’s had a finger in this thing, and we’re accomplishing what I want to do, and that’s getting the system straightened out,” Griffith said.