Political news for readers: May 27, 2025

Catch up quick with the politics-adjacent bookish news of the past few days.

• Shira Perlmutter, who was fired as head of the US Copyright Office, has filed a lawsuit against the Trump administration over her "unlawful and ineffective" termination (NPR).

• Kelly Jensen unpacks a Friday circuit court ruling that the First Amendment cannot be used to challenge book removals in three states (Book Riot).

• Zadie Smith, Ian McEwan, Jeanette Winterson, Irvine Welsh, and Elif Shafak are among the signatories of a letter calling Israel's war in Gaza a genocide and seeking an immediate ceasefire; 380 writers and organizations signed the letter (The Guardian).