Judge says Trump cannot fire head of independent watchdog agency
Source: WaPo
A federal judge on Saturday said President Donald Trump cannot summarily fire the head of an independent watchdog agency, setting up a likely Supreme Court battle over Trump’s sweeping attempt to reshape the federal workforce and expand presidential power.
U.S. District Judge Amy Berman Jackson’s ruling blocks the removal of Hampton Dellinger as head of the Office of Special Counsel, which investigates whistleblower reports filed by government workers and protects federal employees from retaliation, political coercion and other practices that are barred in the federal workplace. The Trump administration has indicated in court filings that it would swiftly appeal any such ruling to the Supreme Court, which on Feb. 21 declined to intervene until the litigation proceeded further.
Though its name is similar, the Office of Special Counsel is unrelated to the special counsels appointed by the Justice Department to handle cases in which the department faces a potential conflict of interest.
Dellinger, a Senate-confirmed appointee of President Joe Biden, sued the administration after he received a short email in February firing him from his role without cause. He alleged in court documents that his termination violated a law that says the president can remove the special counsel only for “inefficiency, neglect of duty, or malfeasance in office.” Dellinger’s five-year term was set to end in 2029.
Read more: https://www.washingtonpost.com/national-security/2025/03/01/hampton-dellinger-trump-office-special-counsel/
Free link
https://archive.ph/FEyHB