The Trump administration has made its first appeal to the US Supreme Court to try to oust the head of a whistleblower protection agency appointed by former President Joe Biden, according to a filing obtained by the Associated Press.
In an emergency appeal, Justice Department lawyers have asked the high court to lift a federal judge’s order temporarily blocking special counsel Hampton Dellinger from being fired.
“Until now, as far as we are aware, no court in American history has wielded an injunction to force the president to retain an agency head,” writes acting Solicitor General Sarah Harris.
The filing also cites the court’s decision last term to grant presidential immunity for official acts — and claims allowing the judge’s ruling to stand could “embolden” other jurists to hinder President Trump’s agenda in pending lawsuits over executive branch staffing.
Much of that effort has been driven by tech billionaire Elon Musk and his dozens of Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) staffers, who have been deputized to trim the size of the federal workforce and the scope of its spending.
An appeals court had earlier declined on procedural grounds to lift the order first imposed by DC US District Senior Judge Amy Berman Jackson, which will expire Feb. 26.
Dellinger in his suit pointed to layoffs of federal workers to claim that his work was “needed now more than ever.”
The special counsel, whose term expires in 2029, had filed a lawsuit against Trump and other administration officials for being dismissed without proper cause and via a Feb. 7 email from the White House.
“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. Thank you for your service,” wrote Sergio Gor, director of the White House presidential personnel office.
Biden nominated Dellinger — who worked as a partner at the same law firm as the ex-president’s troubled son Hunter — to lead the federal watchdog office in late 2023 after having served in the DOJ.
In February 2024, Democrats confirmed Dellinger to lead the special counsel’s office in a party-line vote.
The Supreme Court will be able to respond to the filing as early as Tuesday after returning from the Presidents’ Day holiday.
The Office of Special Counsel (OSC) is an independent agency tasked with investigating and prosecuting workplace misconduct in the executive branch and is not to be confused with special counsel Jack Smith’s office or other independent prosecutorial offices.
Last week, for example, OSC filed a Hatch Act complaint against fired FEMA supervisor Marn’i Washington, who asked her staff to avoid pro-Trump homes in hurricane-hit regions of Florida last year when providing disaster relief.
Reps for the Office of Special Counsel did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
