May 28 (Reuters) - A federal judge in Washington, D.C.,

on Wednesday rejected U.S. Copyright Office Director Shira

Perlmutter's emergency bid to block the Trump administration

from firing her.

U.S. District Judge Timothy Kelly ruled during a hearing

that Perlmutter had not shown she would be irreparably harmed if

not immediately reinstated as the case continues.

The administration had terminated Perlmutter from her

position by email on May 10, which she called "blatantly

unlawful" in a lawsuit filed on May 22.

The Copyright Office, a department of the Library of

Congress, confirmed on May 12 that the administration had fired

Perlmutter. Her removal sparked a backlash from Democratic

politicians, who said that Congress had "purposely insulated"

the Copyright Office from politics.

The administration, in a court filing responding to the

lawsuit, said the Library of Congress is "not an autonomous

organization free from political supervision," but did not give

a specific reason for Perlmutter's firing.

White House spokesperson Anna Kelly said in a statement that

the president "reserves the right to remove employees within his

own Executive Branch who exert his executive authority."

The administration also fired Librarian of Congress Carla

Hayden on May 9, citing her advancement of diversity, equity and

inclusion policies.

Perlmutter's firing came one day after the Copyright Office

released a report on the intersection of artificial intelligence

and copyright law. The office said in the report that technology

companies' use of copyrighted works to train AI may not always

be protected under U.S. law.