**A federal judge's temporary order supports Hampton Dellinger after his dismissal, leading Trump to file an emergency appeal to the Supreme Court amid wider workforce reductions.**
**Trump Challenges Supreme Court on Ethics Agency Dismissal**
**Trump Challenges Supreme Court on Ethics Agency Dismissal**
**The former president contests his authority to fire an ethics office chief, arguing presidential prerogative.**
In a dramatic move, former President Donald Trump has taken the remarkable step of appealing to the Supreme Court regarding his authority to dismiss Hampton Dellinger, the head of the U.S. Office of Special Counsel. Trump's emergency appeal comes in response to Dellinger’s recent termination via a one-sentence email, which has sparked legal controversy about the limits of presidential power in firing heads of independent ethics agencies.
This unprecedented case is believed to be the first related to Trump's sweeping executive actions that have reached the nation's highest court. Dellinger, who was appointed by President Joe Biden and has since filed a lawsuit against the Trump administration, argues that his dismissal violated legal protections designed to ensure that leaders of independent agencies can only be removed under specific conditions, such as neglect of duty, malfeasance, or inefficiency.
A federal judge in Washington, D.C., has temporarily reinstated Dellinger while the case is under judicial review. However, the Trump administration has responded by requesting the appeals court to overturn this decision, a move that was subsequently rejected.
The Department of Justice has now sought the Supreme Court's intervention, describing lower court rulings as encroachments on executive power. Sarah M. Harris, acting solicitor general, stated that historical precedent does not exist for a court to mandate the retention of an agency head against the president’s wishes.
Compounding these legal battles, Trump’s administration has enacted a wave of personnel changes, dismissing nearly 9,500 federal employees across various agencies, including Health and Human Services, Veterans Affairs, and Agriculture. Additionally, approximately 75,000 workers have accepted voluntary buyouts amid these changes.
As Trump presses on with his administration's efficiency drive—led by a task force known as Doge, co-chaired by Elon Musk—his confrontations over agency leadership and significant cuts to the federal workforce have set the stage for continuing legal and political turmoil. The implications of this appeal and its outcome could reverberate throughout the executive branch and impact the protections afforded to whistleblowers and federal employees at large.
This unprecedented case is believed to be the first related to Trump's sweeping executive actions that have reached the nation's highest court. Dellinger, who was appointed by President Joe Biden and has since filed a lawsuit against the Trump administration, argues that his dismissal violated legal protections designed to ensure that leaders of independent agencies can only be removed under specific conditions, such as neglect of duty, malfeasance, or inefficiency.
A federal judge in Washington, D.C., has temporarily reinstated Dellinger while the case is under judicial review. However, the Trump administration has responded by requesting the appeals court to overturn this decision, a move that was subsequently rejected.
The Department of Justice has now sought the Supreme Court's intervention, describing lower court rulings as encroachments on executive power. Sarah M. Harris, acting solicitor general, stated that historical precedent does not exist for a court to mandate the retention of an agency head against the president’s wishes.
Compounding these legal battles, Trump’s administration has enacted a wave of personnel changes, dismissing nearly 9,500 federal employees across various agencies, including Health and Human Services, Veterans Affairs, and Agriculture. Additionally, approximately 75,000 workers have accepted voluntary buyouts amid these changes.
As Trump presses on with his administration's efficiency drive—led by a task force known as Doge, co-chaired by Elon Musk—his confrontations over agency leadership and significant cuts to the federal workforce have set the stage for continuing legal and political turmoil. The implications of this appeal and its outcome could reverberate throughout the executive branch and impact the protections afforded to whistleblowers and federal employees at large.
