A federal appeals court on Wednesday allowed President Trump to move forward with the firing of the head of a federal watchdog agency.
The DC Circuit Court of Appeals, in a two-page order, granted the Trump administration’s request to lift a lower court’s injunction barring the president from removing Hampton Dellinger as the head of the Office of Special Counsel.
Dellinger was appointed by former President Joe Biden last March to lead the Office of Special Counsel – an independent agency tasked with investigating and prosecuting workplace misconduct in the executive branch.
He was later confirmed to the post in a party-line vote, with all Republicans opposing his nomination.
“This order gives effect to the removal of appellee from his position as Special Counsel of the US Office of Special Counsel,” the three-judge panel said. “Appellants have satisfied the stringent requirements for a stay pending appeal.”
The appeals court further noted that it would expedite its review of the lower-court ruling.
US District Judge Amy Berman Jackson on Saturday blocked Trump from firing Dellinger, arguing that his removal would have a chilling effect on the ability of the Office of Special Counsel to protect federal workers from retaliation for whistleblowing.
“The Special Counsel is supposed to withstand the winds of political change and help ensure that no government servant of either party becomes the subject of prohibited employment practices or faces reprisals for calling out wrongdoing — by holdovers from a previous administration or by officials of the new one,” Jackson, an appointee of former President Barack Obama, wrote in her ruling.
Jackson rejected the Trump administration’s claim that the removal protections shielding Dellinger were unconstitutional.
Dellinger sued the Trump administration in DC federal court after being notified last month via email that he was being terminated.
“That email made no attempt to comply with the Special Counsel’s for-cause removal protection,” his initial complaint read. “It stated simply: ‘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 argued that his firing was illegal because of a federal law indicating that special counsels can only be removed by the commander in chief “for inefficiency, neglect of duty, or malfeasance of office.”
He also pointed to DOGE chief Elon Musk’s initiative to layoff federal workers to claim he’s “needed now more than ever.”
Dellinger’s office is also responsible for enforcing the Hatch Act, which restricts the partisan political activities of government workers.
Dellinger can appeal Wednesday’s order at the Supreme Court.
