President Trump fired Librarian of Congress Carla Hayden on Thursday (May 8) as the White House continues to purge the federal government of those it sees as opposed to the president and his agenda. Hayden was notified of her dismissal in a curt email from the Presidential Personnel Office.

Carla Hayden has been the Librarian of Congress since 2016. She was the first woman and African American to hold the position.

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.