President Donald Trump has asked the U.S. Supreme Court to allow him to remove the head of an independent ethics agency responsible for protecting federal whistleblowers. The emergency appeal, filed by the Trump administration, seeks a ruling on whether the president has the authority to fire Hampton Dellinger, head of the U.S. Office of Special Counsel.
The case marks the first legal challenge to Trump’s latest wave of executive actions to reach the nation’s highest court. Alongside dismissing Dellinger, Trump has removed more than a dozen inspectors general at federal agencies and fired thousands of government employees.
Dellinger, appointed by former President Joe Biden, sued the Trump administration after being dismissed via email earlier this month. He argued that his removal violated a federal law that stipulates he can only be fired for poor job performance, a reason not cited in his termination notice. The agency he led is tasked with protecting federal employees from retaliation for whistleblowing.
A federal judge in Washington, D.C., temporarily reinstated Dellinger on Wednesday while the case proceeds. District Judge Amy Berman Jackson ruled that the dismissal contravened laws designed to safeguard the agency’s independence and prevent political interference. On Saturday, a divided U.S. Court of Appeals in Washington rejected the Trump administration’s request to overturn the lower court’s decision.
“This court should not allow lower courts to seize executive power by dictating to the president how long he must continue employing an agency head against his will,” Acting Solicitor General Sarah M. Harris argued in a filing obtained by The Washington Post.
“Until now, as far as we are aware, no court in American history has wielded an injunction to force the president to retain an agency head,” Harris wrote, according to the Associated Press.
Trump’s broader efforts to reshape the federal government have triggered multiple legal challenges. His executive orders on immigration, transgender policies, and government spending have all faced lawsuits, with many expected to reach the Supreme Court.
Meanwhile, his administration has continued large-scale personnel cuts over the weekend. Health agency employees still within their probation periods received termination notices on Saturday evening. “Unfortunately, the agency finds that you are not fit for continued employment because your ability, knowledge, and skills do not fit the agency’s current needs, and your performance has not been adequate to justify further employment at the agency,” read the letters, according to CBS News.
At least 9,500 workers across the Departments of Health and Human Services, Energy, Veterans Affairs, Interior, and Agriculture have been dismissed, according to Reuters. An additional 75,000 have accepted voluntary buyouts offered by the White House as part of a cost-cutting initiative.
The workforce reduction effort is spearheaded by the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), a task force led by billionaire entrepreneur Elon Musk. Democrats have strongly criticized Musk’s role, with Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer calling his influence “a hostile takeover” and arguing that an unelected figure should not wield such sweeping authority over government employment.
