Judge Blocks Trump’s Firing of Head of Office of Special Counsel

The DOJ has filed a notice of appeal and is seeking a stay on the court order.

Special counsel of the U.S. Office of Special Counsel Hampton Dellinger poses for a portrait in an undated handout image. U.S. Office of Special Counsel/Handout via Reuters

A federal judge has ruled against President Donald Trump’s firing of Hampton Dellinger, head of a federal watchdog agency, in the first ruling on a case that will test the scope of presidential power, after the Trump administration’s petition to the Supreme Court to fast-track the case was knocked back.

Washington-based U.S. District Judge Amy Berman Jackson said in her March 1 order that Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and the listed defendants “must recognize plaintiff’s title and position as Special Counsel of the Office of Special Counsel; they must not obstruct or interfere with his performance of his duties; they must not deny him the authority, benefits, or resources of his office” unless he is lawfully removed from office.

She cited Title 5 of the U.S. Code, which states that the head of the Office of Special Counsel (OSC) “may be removed by the President only for inefficiency, neglect of duty, or malfeasance in office.”

Jackson had promised a March 1 decision after granting an extended stay on Feb. 26 for Dellinger to remain at his post. The OSC is responsible for protecting federal employees, former federal employees, and applicants from prohibited practices such as discrimination.

Trump fired Dellinger on Feb. 7 in a one-sentence email. On Feb. 10, Dellinger filed a lawsuit challenging the dismissal, arguing that Trump did not outline a cause, as required by law when firing him.

The Department of Justice (DOJ) argued on appeal with the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit that the U.S. Constitution “empowers the President to remove, at will, the single head of an agency, such as the Special Counsel.” That appeal was knocked back in a 2–1 opinion, with Judge Gregory Katsas dissenting, agreeing with the government.

Amid the court challenges, the White House had named Department of Veterans Affairs Secretary Doug Collins as acting leader of the OSC.

Dellinger also acted to halt the Trump administration’s firings of six probationary government workers, which acting Solicitor General Sarah Harris said were actions harming the administration.

The Trump administration has said it expects bureaucrats in the federal government to work to implement its America First agenda, amid pushback from some employees who disagree with the president’s agenda.

The White House has said it is focused on streamlining the federal workforce, and earlier offered seven-month full-paid buyouts to federal employees to voluntarily resign, noting impending cuts to the federal government.

Jackson said in her March 1 opinion that “it would be antithetical to the very existence of this particular government agency and position to vindicate the President’s Article II power as it was described,“ while warning of ”a constitutional license to bully officials in the executive branch into doing [the president’s] will.”

The judge noted that her ruling was “extremely narrow” and did not diminish Trump’s powers regarding other parts of the executive branch.

“This is the only single-headed agency left for the courts to consider, and it is unlike any of them,” she wrote. “Thus, recognizing the unique nature of the OSC will be no threat to the Framers’ decision, made manifest in Article II, to make ‘a single President responsible for the actions of the Executive Branch.’”

The OSC is the independent federal agency tasked with investigating and prosecuting government and political corruption. It receives its authority from the Civil Service Reform Act, the Whistleblower Protection Act, the Hatch Act, and the Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act.

Jackson added that the OSC is “not assigned responsibilities that include furthering the administration’s agenda; it is the Special Counsel’s job to look into and shine light on a set of specific prohibited practices so that the other bodies, in the appropriate exercise of their constitutional authority, can take whatever action they deem to be appropriate.”

The DOJ has filed a notice of appeal to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia. It also sought to stay the court order, pending appeal.

“This relief constitutes an extraordinary intrusion into the President’s authority,” the defense’s motion to stay reads. “Defendants have made a ‘strong showing’ that they are likely to succeed on the merits. The Supreme Court has made clear—twice, and recently—that Article II precludes Congress from placing limits on the President’s authority to remove principal officers of the United States who serve as sole heads of an Executive Branch agency.”

The case is likely headed to the Supreme Court.