A federal judge in Washington ruled on Saturday that President Donald Trump’s attempt to remove Special Counsel Hampton Dellinger was unlawful, ordering that he remain in his position as head of the Office of Special Counsel (OSC). The Justice Department has indicated it will appeal the decision.
US District Judge Amy Berman Jackson sided with Dellinger, who sued Trump last month after being fired, despite a law stating that a special counsel can only be removed for “inefficiency, neglect of duty, or malfeasance in office.” The ruling is expected to head back to the US Supreme Court, which had previously allowed Dellinger to remain in his role temporarily.
Jackson rejected the Trump administration’s argument that the removal protections for the special counsel are unconstitutional, asserting that allowing the president to fire him at will would compromise his ability to protect federal employees from unlawful personnel actions, including retaliation against whistleblowers.
“The Special Counsel is supposed to withstand the winds of political change and help ensure that no government servant of either party becomes the subject of prohibited employment practices or faces reprisals for calling out wrongdoing—by holdovers from a previous administration or by officials of the new one,” Jackson wrote in her decision.
Dellinger welcomed the ruling, saying, “I’m glad and grateful to see the court confirm the importance and legality of the job protections Congress afforded my position. My efforts to protect federal employees generally, and whistleblowers in particular, from unlawful treatment will continue.”
The case is unfolding amid Dellinger’s challenge to the removal of probationary federal workers who were dismissed as part of a broader government overhaul under the Trump administration. Earlier this week, a federal board halted several terminations after Dellinger argued the firings may have been unlawful.
The OSC, an independent federal agency, investigates whistleblower complaints and enforces the Hatch Act, which restricts partisan political activities by government employees. Dellinger’s firing occurred as Trump administration officials openly voiced political support for him on social media, despite Hatch Act restrictions on advocacy while on duty.
“If I don’t have independence, if I can be removed for no good reason, federal employees are going to have no good reason to come to me,” Dellinger told reporters outside Washington’s federal courthouse.
The Justice Department, led by Acting Solicitor General Sarah Harris, argued in court filings that the lower court had crossed “a constitutional red line” by blocking Trump’s move to remove Dellinger, stating that it hindered the new administration’s ability to set its own agenda.
Dellinger was appointed by Democratic President Joe Biden and confirmed by the Senate to a five-year term in 2024.