Special Counsel Hampton Dellinger argues he may be fired only for misconduct. He says his termination letter cited no reason for the firing.
The U.S. Supreme Court on Feb. 21 declined to allow the Trump administration to immediately fire Office of Special Counsel chief Hampton Dellinger.
This is the first time that the Supreme Court has weighed in on an action taken by the second Trump administration.
The court ruled that, at least for the time being, it will allow a temporary block of Dellinger’s firing to stand until it expires on Feb. 26.
The Trump administration filed an emergency application with the Supreme Court on Feb. 16, asking the justices to undo a federal district court’s temporary restraining order blocking the termination of Dellinger’s employment.
Washington-based U.S. District Judge Amy Berman Jackson determined that the court will hold a hearing on Feb. 26 regarding Dellinger’s request to upgrade the temporary restraining order to a preliminary injunction.
The Supreme Court ruled that the government’s request to rescind the block will be “held in abeyance,” or delayed, until Feb. 26. At that time, the high court may take further action.
The Trump administration argued it had the authority to fire Dellinger even though he was confirmed by the U.S. Senate.
The Trump administration asked the Supreme Court on Feb. 16 to allow it to fire the head of the agency that protects whistleblowers after lower courts said it could not.
The application said the U.S. Constitution “empowers the President to remove, at will, the single head of an agency, such as the Special Counsel.”
Federal district courts do not have the authority “to reinstate principal officers,” according to the filing.
The lower court has “erred in ways that threaten the separation of powers” of the U.S. government, the document said. The separation of powers is a constitutional doctrine that divides the government into three branches to prevent any single branch from accumulating too much power.
Dellinger argued that he may be terminated only for misconduct during his fixed-term appointment. Dellinger said a brief emailed notice he received on Feb. 7 informed him he was being fired and did not explain why.
New administrations routinely fire government officials without providing a reason.
