Federal workforce watchdog, dismissed by Trump, ends legal battle to reclaim his position
Former Special Counsel Hampton Dellinger highlights the difficulties he encountered in his efforts to reclaim his position, stating he faced “long” odds.
TroibNews 
A federal watchdog responsible for overseeing government workers has decided to halt his legal battle against President Donald Trump's efforts to remove him from his position.
Following a ruling by a federal appeals court that permitted Trump to move forward with the removal of Special Counsel Hampton Dellinger, Dellinger announced he is withdrawing his lawsuit that contests his dismissal.
“I think my odds of ultimately prevailing before the Supreme Court are long,” Dellinger remarked.
Appointed by former President Joe Biden, Dellinger was serving a five-year term as the head of the Office of Special Counsel, an independent agency charged with investigating whistleblower complaints and alleged breaches of civil service regulations.
His struggle to maintain his position intensified recently as he sought intervention from a civil service board to prevent the Trump administration from terminating thousands of federal employees currently on probation.
On Wednesday, Dellinger successfully obtained an order reinstating over 5,000 Agriculture Department workers for a minimum of 45 days. He appeared to be preparing to pursue similar relief for tens of thousands of other dismissed employees across various federal agencies until the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit ruled that allowed Trump’s dismissal of Dellinger to move forward.
Prior to the D.C. Circuit's decision, Dellinger had secured a series of rulings from U.S. District Judge Amy Berman Jackson that permitted him to remain in his role after Trump's initial attempt to terminate him on February 7. Jackson determined that Trump had breached a federal statute that restricts his authority to dismiss the special counsel.
The Trump administration contested one of those rulings all the way to the Supreme Court, which declined the Justice Department's request for relief at that early stage, but it did not address the broader legal question regarding the extent of the president's authority to remove all executive branch officials for any reason, even those legally protected from arbitrary dismissal.
Some legal experts suggest that Dellinger's case may be less favorable for challenging Trump’s firing powers compared to cases involving other executive branch officials Trump has tried to dismiss. This assessment is based on the fact that Dellinger served as the sole head of the Office of Special Counsel, while other officials are part of multi-member panels. Courts have generally upheld that Congress has greater authority to protect the leaders of multi-member agencies from presidential control.
In his statement on Thursday, Dellinger criticized the D.C. Circuit’s decision that effectively terminated his position.
“I think the circuit judges erred badly because their willingness to sign off on my ouster — even if presented as possibly temporary — immediately erases the independence Congress provided for my position, a vital protection that has been accepted as lawful for nearly fifty years,” he stated.
Amid the ongoing legal dispute, Department of Justice lawyers pointed to Dellinger’s advocacy for the terminated workers as evidence of his alleged undermining of Trump’s agenda.
As he announced his decision to cease the legal struggle, Dellinger underscored his independence, stating he had informed Biden administration officials prior to accepting the role that he would maintain a non-partisan approach.
“I posed one question before saying yes: ‘you know I can’t and won’t ‘swallow my whistle’, right?” he recalled. “My point was that I was going to follow and enforce the rules like an honest referee would even if some might perceive it as against the interests of certain individuals including the President.”
Ramin Sohrabi contributed to this report for TROIB News
Following a ruling by a federal appeals court that permitted Trump to move forward with the removal of Special Counsel Hampton Dellinger, Dellinger announced he is withdrawing his lawsuit that contests his dismissal.
“I think my odds of ultimately prevailing before the Supreme Court are long,” Dellinger remarked.
Appointed by former President Joe Biden, Dellinger was serving a five-year term as the head of the Office of Special Counsel, an independent agency charged with investigating whistleblower complaints and alleged breaches of civil service regulations.
His struggle to maintain his position intensified recently as he sought intervention from a civil service board to prevent the Trump administration from terminating thousands of federal employees currently on probation.
On Wednesday, Dellinger successfully obtained an order reinstating over 5,000 Agriculture Department workers for a minimum of 45 days. He appeared to be preparing to pursue similar relief for tens of thousands of other dismissed employees across various federal agencies until the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit ruled that allowed Trump’s dismissal of Dellinger to move forward.
Prior to the D.C. Circuit's decision, Dellinger had secured a series of rulings from U.S. District Judge Amy Berman Jackson that permitted him to remain in his role after Trump's initial attempt to terminate him on February 7. Jackson determined that Trump had breached a federal statute that restricts his authority to dismiss the special counsel.
The Trump administration contested one of those rulings all the way to the Supreme Court, which declined the Justice Department's request for relief at that early stage, but it did not address the broader legal question regarding the extent of the president's authority to remove all executive branch officials for any reason, even those legally protected from arbitrary dismissal.
Some legal experts suggest that Dellinger's case may be less favorable for challenging Trump’s firing powers compared to cases involving other executive branch officials Trump has tried to dismiss. This assessment is based on the fact that Dellinger served as the sole head of the Office of Special Counsel, while other officials are part of multi-member panels. Courts have generally upheld that Congress has greater authority to protect the leaders of multi-member agencies from presidential control.
In his statement on Thursday, Dellinger criticized the D.C. Circuit’s decision that effectively terminated his position.
“I think the circuit judges erred badly because their willingness to sign off on my ouster — even if presented as possibly temporary — immediately erases the independence Congress provided for my position, a vital protection that has been accepted as lawful for nearly fifty years,” he stated.
Amid the ongoing legal dispute, Department of Justice lawyers pointed to Dellinger’s advocacy for the terminated workers as evidence of his alleged undermining of Trump’s agenda.
As he announced his decision to cease the legal struggle, Dellinger underscored his independence, stating he had informed Biden administration officials prior to accepting the role that he would maintain a non-partisan approach.
“I posed one question before saying yes: ‘you know I can’t and won’t ‘swallow my whistle’, right?” he recalled. “My point was that I was going to follow and enforce the rules like an honest referee would even if some might perceive it as against the interests of certain individuals including the President.”
Ramin Sohrabi contributed to this report for TROIB News
