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From the Associated Press: The head of a federal watchdog agency must remain in his job, a judge in Washington ruled on Saturday, saying President Donald Trump’s bid to remove the special counsel was unlawful.
U.S. District Judge Amy Berman Jackson sided with Hampton Dellinger, who leads the Office of Special Counsel, in a legal battle over the president’s authority to oust the head of the independent agency that’s likely headed back to the U.S. Supreme Court.
Dellinger sued Trump last month after he was fired, even though the law says special counsels can be removed by the president “only for inefficiency, neglect of duty, or malfeasance in office.” Jackson, who was nominated to the bench by Democratic president Barack Obama, quickly reinstated Dellinger in the job while he pursued his case.
Jackson rejected the Trump administration’s claims that the special counsel’s removal protections are unconstitutional because they prevent the president from rightfully installing his preferred agency head.
The judge said allowing the president to remove the special counsel at will would have a chilling effect on his crucial duties, which include guarding the federal workforce from illegal personnel actions, such as retaliation for whistleblowing.
Dellinger was nominated by Joe Biden as special counsel in October 2023, and was confirmed by the Senate to a five-year term on Feb. 27, 2024.
The Justice Department filed an appeal in the case after the judge’s ruling Saturday evening.
Update: DOJ has already filed their notice of appeal to the DC Circuit. pic.twitter.com/xNGu7gZ2zB
— Chris “Law Dork” Geidner (@chrisgeidner) March 2, 2025
🚨JUST IN: The Judge in the Hampton Dellinger case ruled that President Trump’s firing of him was illegal. She declared firing illegal, and ordered Dellinger be reinstated as Special Counsel.
SCOTUS had already ruled with the two dissenting justices arguing reinstatement is… pic.twitter.com/TMJZB8ObKO
— Walter Curt (@WCdispatch_) March 2, 2025
In addition to fighting his own ouster, Dellinger has argued that the administration’s mass firing of probationary federal employees is probably illegal. https://t.co/LOI8yX3hT6
— Rachel Van Dongen (@RachelVanD) March 2, 2025
BREAKING: Judge Amy Berman Jackson ruled in favor of Hampton Dellinger, blocking Trump’s attempt to fire him as head of the Office of Special Counsel. pic.twitter.com/Odz9MKrmXr
— Brian Krassenstein (@krassenstein) March 2, 2025
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