A federal appeals court cleared the way for President Donald Trump to at least temporarily fire the head of an independent US whistleblower agency, pausing a decision by a judge who determined the dismissal was illegal.
The ruling is a major setback for Hampton Dellinger, who was fired from the Office of Special Counsel without explanation on Feb. 7 but remained in his job by judicial order. His termination was part of the president’s bid to get rid of some agency officials whose independence was established by Congress.
A three-judge panel of the US Court of Appeals for DC Circuit on Wednesday said its order “gives effect to the removal” of Dellinger from his position. The Trump administration had “satisfied the stringent requirements for a stay pending appeal,” the panel said. Should Dellinger appeal, the case may ultimately be decided by the US Supreme Court.
Dellinger’s lawyer didn’t immediately return a message seeking a comment on the ruling.
The decision overrides US District Judge Amy Berman Jackson’s March 1 ruling that Dellinger’s firing was unlawful because the federal law that created the position only allows for termination by the president for “inefficiency, neglect of duty, or malfeasance in office,” none of which apply to the case.
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