Judge says #Trump cannot fire head of #independent #watchdog agency
The federal judge’s decision blocks Trump from removing #HamptonDellinger as head of the Office of #SpecialCounsel & sets up a likely #SCOTUS battle over the president’s powers.
#law #NationalSecurity #authoritarianism #autocracy #democracy #SeparationOfPowers
https://www.washingtonpost.com/national-security/2025/03/01/hampton-dellinger-trump-office-special-counsel/
US Dist Judge #AmyBermanJackson’s ruling blocks the removal of #HamptonDellinger as head of the Office of #SpecialCounsel, which investigates #whistleblower reports filed by #GovernmentWorkers & protects #FederalEmployees from #retaliation, political #coercion & other practices that are barred in the fed workplace.
The #Trump admin has indicated in court filings that it would appeal any such ruling to #SCOTUS, which on Feb 21 declined to intervene until the litigation proceeded further.
The Office of #SpecialCounsel is unrelated to the special counsels appointed by the #DOJ to handle cases in which the dept faces a potential conflict of interest.
Dellinger, a Senate-confirmed appointee of Pres #Biden, sued the #Trump admin after he received a email in Feb firing him from his role w/o cause. He alleged in court docs that his termination violated a #law that says the president can remove the special counsel only for “inefficiency, neglect of duty, or malfeasance in office.”
Judge #AmyBermanJackson disagreed, saying in her ruling that the #statute “must stand.” Eliminating the restrictions on Dellinger’s removal, she wrote, “would be fatal to the defining & essential feature of the Office of #SpecialCounsel as it was conceived by #Congress & signed into #law by the President: its #independence.”
#NationalSecurity #authoritarianism #autocracy #democracy #SeparationOfPowers
“It would be ironic, to say the least, & inimical to the ends furthered by the #statute if the #SpecialCounsel himself could be chilled in his work by fear of arbitrary or #partisan removal,” the judge added.
Dellinger said in an emailed statement that he was grateful to see the court “confirm the importance & legality of the job protections #Congress afforded my position.”
#Trump #law #NationalSecurity #authoritarianism #autocracy #democracy #SeparationOfPowers
#Trump’s attempt to fire Dellinger is part of his broader push to remove government #watchdogs who investigate wrongdoing & protect #FederalWorkers. Trump also has tried to fire the head of the Merit Systems Protection Board [#MSPB], an #independent agency that hears appeals of terminations & other adverse actions against #CivilServants. A federal judge reinstated her temporarily. Dellinger’s office refers certain cases to the merit board, which issues its own decisions.
#Trump has also tried to remove more than a dozen #InspectorsGeneral, as well as members of the National #Labor Relations Board [#NLRB] & the #Equal Employment Opportunity Commission [#EEOC]. Many of the ousted ofcls are contesting their removals in court.
In addition to fighting his own ouster, Dellinger has been arguing that the admin’s #MassFirings of probationary #FederalWorkers is illegal.
#law #NationalSecurity #authoritarianism #autocracy #democracy #SeparationOfPowers
Dellinger asked the #MSPB this week to halt the dismissal of 6 probationary employees while his office investigates their complaints. Dellinger said the firings appear “contrary to a reasonable reading of the #law” & said he was considering “ways to seek relief for a broader group.”
The merit board granted his request to stay the terminations for 45 days.
#law #NationalSecurity #authoritarianism #autocracy #democracy #SeparationOfPowers
The president has broad power under Article II of the Constitution to choose the leaders of #FederalAgencies or fire them at will. But #Congress carved out exceptions intended to preserve the #independence & #impartiality of certain #independent agency leaders.
#SCOTUS has upheld for-cause removal rules for agencies w/multiple leaders but recently ruled that such restrictions don’t apply to certain agencies w/a single director.
#law #NationalSecurity #autocracy #democracy #SeparationOfPowers
Dellinger’s case focuses on whether he is a true agency head who can be removed at will or an “inferior officer” who can be protected from firing w/o cause.
During a hearing Wed, Jackson challenged arguments by the #Trump admin’s lawyers that reversing the firing would encroach on the president’s constitutional authority to appoint people he trusts to executive branch positions.
“His actual job is to be a check & balance on the president,” she said.
Nonilex