US judge declares Trump's firing of watchdog agency head illegal

By David Shepardson and Nate Raymond

WASHINGTON (Reuters) -A U.S. judge on Saturday declared President Donald Trump's firing of the head of a federal watchdog agency illegal in an early test of the scope of presidential power likely to be decided at the U.S. Supreme Court.

U.S. District Judge Amy Berman Jackson in Washington had previously ruled Hampton Dellinger, the head of the Office of Special Counsel who is responsible for protecting whistleblowers, could remain in his post pending a ruling.

Jackson said in her ruling Saturday that upholding Trump's ability to fire Dellinger would give him "a constitutional license to bully officials in the executive branch into doing his will."

The Justice Department filed a notice late on Saturday saying they were appealing Berman's ruling to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia.

Dellinger, who was appointed by Democratic President Joe Biden and approved by the Senate to a five-year term last year, said in an email to Reuters he is "grateful to see the court confirm the importance and legality of the job protections Congress afforded my position."

He added his "efforts to protect federal employees generally, and whistleblowers in particular, from unlawful treatment will continue."

Lawyers for the Trump administration have argued that the order keeping Dellinger in place is an encroachment on Trump's authority over officials serving in his administration.

Jackson, who was named to the bench by President Barack Obama, rejected the contention that the statute is unconstitutional saying the Special Counsel’s job is to review unethical or unlawful practices directed at federal civil servants and help whistleblowers act without suffering reprisals.

"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," Jackson wrote.

The Trump administration previously urged the U.S. Supreme Court, which has already delayed a ruling in the case, to get involved earlier this week.

Trump has sought to rein in the independence of federal agencies like the Federal Trade Commission, Securities and Exchange Commission and Federal Communications Commission and a ruling in Dellinger's case could help determine the extent of his authority to do so.

Jackson said her ruling was "extremely narrow" and did not diminish Trump's powers. "This is the only single-headed agency left for the courts to consider, and it is unlike any of them," she wrote.

Acting Solicitor General Sarah Harris said earlier Dellinger's continued work as special counsel was harming the Trump administration, pointing to Dellinger's role on Tuesday in halting the firings of six probationary government workers the administration had sought to fire.

(Reporting by David Shepardson and Nate Raymond; Editing by Christian Schmollinger)