SCOTUS Punts Trump’s Request Leaving Head of Watchdog Agency In Place
The Supreme Court Friday paused an emergency request from President Donald Trump and allowed the head of a key federal whistleblower agency to remain in office until a Feb. 26 hearing after the Trump administration attempted to fire him without cause earlier this month.
It’s the first legal challenge from Trump’s second term to reach the Supreme Court, giving us insight into the GOP-controlled court’s receptiveness to his sweeping assertions of presidential power and his bid to consolidate power over the executive branch.
It also previews how the justices may rule if they consider some of the legal challenges against the Trump administration’s broad dismissals across the federal government.
The Supreme Court’s order stemmed from the Trump administration firing Hampton Dellinger, head of the Office of Special Counsel (OSC), an independent, non-partisan federal agency that combats political corruption and protects government employees and whistleblowers.
The Trump administration fired Dellinger Feb. 7 through a pithy, one-sentence email that stated no reason for his dismissal. “On behalf of President Donald J. Trump, I am writing to inform you that your position as Special Counsel of the US Office of Special Counsel is terminated, effective immediately,” the email read.
Dellinger promptly sued, claiming that the administration broke federal law that prevents the president from removing the special counsel for reasons other than inefficiency, neglect of duty, or malfeasance.
A district court judge then blocked Dellinger’s removal with a temporary restraining order that will expire Feb. 26. An appeals court also rejected the government’s appeal against the restraining order, allowing Dellinger to remain in his position.
The Trump administration then asked SCOTUS to take the rare step of intervening in a new lawsuit by lifting the temporary restraining order protecting Dellinger.
In its application to the highest court, the Trump administration in part justified Dellinger’s firing by citing its decision in Trump v. U.S., claiming the order prevented Congress from restricting the president’s power to remove federal officials from their positions.
The court kept the order in place while at the same time staying the Trump administration’s application in place — essentially punting on the issue.
Justices Sonia Sotomayor and Ketanji Brown Jackson noted that they would have denied the government’s application outright, while Justices Samuel Alito and Neil Gorsuch said that they would have granted it.
In previous rulings, such as Humphrey’s Executor v. U.S. and Morrison v. Olson, the Supreme Court protected certain federal officials from being arbitrarily removed from their positions by the president.
However, the Roberts Court over the past two decades has consistently chipped away at previous restrictions on the president’s removal power, increasing his control over the executive branch.