Head of federal watchdog agency fired by Trump should remain on the job, judge rules

(CNN) — A federal judge ruled Saturday that the head of a government watchdog agency whom President Donald Trump is attempting to fire is entitled to remain in the post, setting up a dispute that will almost certainly be decided by the Supreme Court.

The ruling from US District Judge Amy Berman Jackson is a win for the head of the Office of Special Counsel, Hampton Dellinger, who sued the Trump administration over his firing in a case that has already gone to the Supreme Court once before. The latest decision removes some of the technical legal issues that complicated earlier appeals by the Department of Justice.

“The special counsel’s job is to look into and expose unethical or unlawful practices directed at federal civil servants, and to help ensure that whistleblowers who disclose fraud, waste, and abuse on the part of government agencies can do so without suffering reprisals,” Jackson wrote. “It would be ironic, to say the least, and inimical to the ends furthered by the statute if the Special Counsel himself could be chilled in his work by fear of arbitrary or partisan removal.”

Ruling otherwise, she said, would offer the president “a constitutional license to bully officials in the executive branch into doing his will.”

The Trump administration is appealing the decision.

Dellinger’s case may ultimately help to decide how much power Trump has to fire the leadership at independent agencies, many of whom are protected by federal laws that bar their dismissal absent neglect of duty or malfeasance. But until now, most of the legal wrangling has focused on procedural issues, such as whether certain temporary court orders can be appealed.

Jackson’s latest decision will clear away some of those procedural hurdles.

“I’m grateful to see the court confirm the importance and legality of the job protections Congress afforded my position,” Dellinger said in a statement. “My efforts to protect federal employees generally, and whistleblowers in particular, from unlawful treatment will continue.”

The US Office of Special Counsel is unrelated to special counsels like Jack Smith or Robert Mueller who are appointed to oversee politically sensitive Justice Department investigations. Instead, Dellinger handles allegations of whistleblower retaliation made on behalf of federal employees — including some who are also losing their jobs as Trump attempts to rapidly shrink the size of the government. Congress has made clear that the special counsel, created during the Carter administration, could be removed “by the president only for inefficiency, neglect of duty, or malfeasance in office.”

The director of the White House Presidential Personnel Office fired Dellinger on February 7 in a brief email that cited none of those requirements, court records show.

Dellinger was appointed by President Joe Biden in 2024 to lead the Office of Special Counsel for a five-year term.

The Supreme Court has considered the controversy once before, in the first case tied to Trump’s whirlwind of activity to reach the high court since the president began his second term. Five justices agreed late last week to hold the matter in “abeyance” for several days. That decision essentially allowed the court to punt the case until a temporary order handed down by Jackson was set to expire.

This story has been updated with additional information.

CNN’s Katelyn Polantz contributed to this report.

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