On Wednesday, a federal appeals court ruled that President Donald Trump has the authority to dismiss a key government watchdog, marking the latest development in an ongoing legal battle over the power to terminate federal officials.
The U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals for D.C. suspended a lower court decision that deemed the termination of Hampton Dellinger, formerly of the Office of Special Counsel, as “unlawful.” The appeals court has agreed to expedite its examination of the ruling, but until then, Dellinger can be dismissed from his position.
Neither the White House nor Dellinger responded immediately to requests for comments on Wednesday evening.
This ruling represents a temporary victory for Trump as his administration aims to execute widespread firings of federal employees, including nearly two dozen officials responsible for oversight.
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Dellinger, who served as special counsel for the Office of Special Counsel, initiated a lawsuit against multiple Trump administration officials last month over his dismissal, claiming it breached a federal statute that permits the president to remove special counsels only for “inefficiency, neglect of duty, or malfeasance in office.”
According to his lawsuit, the email regarding his termination did not cite any of these grounds as justification for his firing.
“The termination email failed to adhere to the Special Counsel’s requirements for removal with cause,” the lawsuit states. “It simply noted: ‘On behalf of President Donald J. Trump, I am writing to inform you that your position as Special Counsel of the US Office of Special Counsel is terminated, effective immediately.’”
Dellinger was appointed by Democratic President Joe Biden and confirmed by the Senate to a five-year term starting in March 2024.
U.S. Office of Special Counsel via Reuters
In his role at the Office of Special Counsel, Dellinger was responsible for protecting federal employees from prohibited personnel actions, including retaliation against whistleblowers. His office’s activities were not connected to the Trump investigations led by Jack Smith, who was appointed as a special counsel by then-Attorney General Merrick Garland in 2022.
Recently, U.S. District Judge Amy Berman Jackson halted Trump’s attempt to remove Dellinger, mandating that he be allowed to continue his duties until the end of his term, except in cases of inefficiency, neglect of duty, or malfeasance in office. She permitted Dellinger to retain his position while the case is litigated.
Judge Jackson seemed to concur with Dellinger’s assertion that allowing his termination without cause could deter federal employees from coming forward with complaints through the Office of Special Counsel.
“The Special Counsel’s role is to investigate and expose unethical or illegal activities aimed at federal civil servants and to ensure that whistleblowers who report fraud, waste, and abuse within government agencies can do so without fear of retaliation,” Jackson stated in her Saturday ruling. “It would be paradoxical, to say the least, and counterproductive to the objectives of the statute if the Special Counsel could be deterred in his work by the threat of arbitrary or politically motivated dismissal.”
The Justice Department has sought approval from the Supreme Court to confirm what it claims to be Trump’s authority to dismiss Dellinger, arguing that anything less would undermine the president’s ability to oversee the executive branch “in the early days of his Administration.”
Gary Grumbach contributed.
