Trump Admin Appeals After Judge Reappoints Head of Whistleblower Protection Office

President Donald Trump signs a proclamation renaming the Gulf of Mexico as the Gulf of America aboard Air Force One, enroute to New Orleans, La., on Feb. 9, 2025. Roberto Schmidt/ AFP

Lawyers for the Trump administration filed a notice of appeal late Feb. 10 after U.S. Judge Amy Berman Jackson reinstated the head of the U.S. Office of Special Counsel (OSC), which protects government whistleblowers. The official sued the Trump administration earlier on Monday, challenging the president’s decision to remove them from office.

Hampton Dellinger, appointed to lead the OSC in 2023 by former President Joe Biden, said he received a one sentence email from White House personnel director Sergio Gor on Friday regarding the immediate termination of his position.

“On behalf of President Donald J. Trump, I am writing to inform you that your position as Special Counsel of the U.S. Office of Special Counsel is terminated, effective immediately,” the email read.

Dellinger, whose five-year term was confirmed by the Senate in 2024, argued that his firing was in violation of a U.S. law outlining that he must be removed for cause. Dellinger argued his firing lacked basis, justification, and authority.

Federal law permits that a special counsel be removed by the president for inefficiency, neglect of duty, or malfeasance in office.

“Congress authorized the OSC with a crucial investigative and oversight role to protect the integrity of the civil service in circumstances such as these,” reads Dellinger’s lawsuit filed by Hecker Fink LLP. “The recent spate of terminations of protected civil service employees under the new presidential administration has created controversies, both about the lawfulness of these actions and about potential retaliation against whistleblowers.”

Judge Jackson reinstated Dellinger to the position until Feb. 13, while the court considers a longer-term order.

“I am grateful to have the opportunity to continue leading the Office of Special Counsel and I am resuming my work tonight,” Dellinger said in a statement.

The OSC, an independent federal investigative and prosecutorial agency, receives its authority from the Civil Service Reform Act, the Whistleblower Protection Act, the Hatch Act, and the Uniformed Services Employment & Reemployment Rights Act (USERRA).

Ahead of Judge Jackson’s ruling, the Trump White House named Department of Veterans Affairs Secretary Doug Collins as acting leader of the OSC.

The judge’s reinstatement order makes clear the administration cannot deny Dellinger access to the resources or materials of that office or recognize the authority of any other person as special counsel.

Before his time as special counsel, Dellinger served as an assistant attorney general in the Biden administration’s Justice Department in its Office of Legal Policy. He was also a deputy attorney general in the North Carolina Department of Justice and chief legal counsel in the North Carolina governor’s office.

The Epoch Times has contacted the White House and the Department of Justice for comment on the case but has not received a response.

The Associated Press and Reuters contributed to this report.