WASHINGTON: A US judge temporarily reinstated the head of a US watchdog agency focused on protecting government whistleblowers after the official filed a lawsuit on Monday (Feb 10) claiming his removal by President Donald Trump’ administration was unlawful.
Hampton Dellinger, who was appointed in 2023 to head the Office of Special Counsel, said in the lawsuit that he received an email from the head of the White House personnel office on Friday informing him, on behalf of Trump, that his position was terminated effective immediately.
Dellinger, whose appointment by Democratic President Joe Biden to a five-year term was confirmed by the Senate in 2024, alleged his firing violated a US law that only allows for him to be removed for neglect of duty or misconduct.
A White House spokesperson did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
US District Judge Amy Berman Jackson ruled that Dellinger should remain in his position until Thursday while the court considered a request for 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.
Lawyers for the Trump administration filed a notice of appeal late Monday.
Also on Monday, Trump removed the top US ethics official, David Huitema, according to a notice on the Office of Government Ethics’ website. Huitema assumed the role, which is tasked with preventing conflicts of interest among government workers, in December.
A spokesperson for the office declined to comment.
The moves are the latest by the Trump administration to expel officials who investigate wrongdoing within the federal government. Trump last month fired 17 inspectors general who serve as independent watchdogs within their agencies, without providing a reason.
The Special Counsel Office allows whistleblowers to make disclosures about alleged misconduct within federal agencies and investigates complaints of retaliation. It also enforces a US law known as the Hatch Act that limits political participation by federal employees.
Dellinger’s lawsuit, filed in federal District Court in Washington DC, alleges that his firing was “without basis, justification or authority”.
Dellinger said his firing was even more consequential given moves by the Trump administration, and billionaire Elon Musk’s government overhaul, to remove public employees despite employment protections.
Trump and his allies have argued that Trump’s powers under the Constitution give him broad control over the employees of executive agencies.
“These terminations will appear to whistleblowers as retaliation to the office that is supposed to protect them,” J Ward Morrow, the assistant general counsel at the American Federation of Government Employees, a union representing government employees, said in an email.
