The Trump administration has petitioned the Supreme Court to sanction the dismissal of the head of a federal agency tasked with safeguarding whistleblowers, marking the first appeal of Trump’s new term and a significant test of his conflict with the judiciary.
Hampton Dellinger, the leader of the Office of the Special Counsel (OSC), is among several terminated government watchdogs who have initiated legal action against the Trump administration, claiming that their firings were unlawful and demanding reinstatement.
The OSC operates as an independent federal entity that provides “a secure channel for federal employees to report misconduct.”
It is also responsible for enforcing the Hatch Act, a statute established in 1939 aimed at ensuring the nonpartisan execution of government programs, along with upholding a meritocracy by investigating and prosecuting issues related to racial discrimination, partisan bias, nepotism, and coerced political actions.
Dellinger has asserted that his office’s function is “more crucial than ever,” referencing the “unprecedented” number of firings in recent weeks, many occurring without stated reasons, of federal employees with civil service protections by the Trump administration.
On Wednesday, Federal Judge Amy Berman Jackson reinstated Dellinger pending a hearing scheduled for February 26, stating that the language of the 1978 legislation establishing Dellinger’s role “demonstrates Congress’s clear intent to protect the independence of the special counsel and shield his work from the fluctuations of political shifts.”
According to that statute, the special counsel “can only be removed by the president for inefficiency, neglect of duty, or misconduct in office.”
As the Trump administration engages in extensive firings throughout federal agencies, Dellinger contends that his termination—conveyed through a terse email lacking a specified reason—was unlawful.
The Trump Justice Department has since filed a petition with the Supreme Court to overturn Jackson’s ruling, asserting that permitting a judge to restore an agency head for two weeks prior to a February 26 hearing constitutes an unacceptable constraint on presidential authority.
“To our knowledge, no court in American history has ever issued an injunction compelling the president to retain an agency head,” stated Sarah M. Harris, Trump’s acting solicitor general, in a brief obtained by the Associated Press on Sunday.
The case isn’t anticipated to be scheduled until after the Supreme Court returns from the Presidents’ Day holiday weekend, meaning the justices will not address it until at least Tuesday.
The Trump administration’s brief maintains that upholding the order in Dellinger’s situation could “encourage” judges to impose additional constraints in the approximately 70 lawsuits currently faced by the administration.
after newsletter promotion
The brief highlights several instances where judges have impeded Trump’s policies, which include temporarily lifting a freeze on foreign aid funding and preventing workers from Elon Musk’s so-called “Department of Government Efficiency” team from accessing Treasury Department data for now.
Legal experts have indicated that a ruling by the Supreme Court favoring the Trump administration in the Dellinger case could dismantle decades of legal precedent. Supporters of Trump have been urging the Supreme Court to reverse a 1935 ruling that safeguarded Congress’s ability to protect the heads of independent agencies from presidential dismissal.
“Since I took charge at OSC last year, I have been extraordinarily proud of our achievements,” Dellinger stated in a message to Politico last week. “The agency’s efforts have garnered appreciation from whistleblower advocates, veterans, and others. The push to remove me lacks any factual or legal justification — none at all — making it illegal.”
It is important to note that the Office of the Special Counsel operates independently from Justice Department special counsels, who are appointed by the attorney general for designated investigations, such as Jack Smith.
The Associated Press contributed reporting
