According to legal analyst Glenn Kirschner on Saturday, the U.S. Supreme Court just dealt President Donald Trump an “unexpected” loss after it temporarily allowed Hampton Dellinger, head of an independent federal agency that protects whistleblowers, to remain in his position.
Newsweek has reached out to the White House via email for comment on Sunday morning.
Why It Matters
Trump has sought to restructure the federal government since his inauguration on January 20, taking many actions, such as cutting what he views as discriminatory diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) programs and cuts to overall federal spending via the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), which is led by billionaire Elon Musk.
However, the new administration has already suffered a number of legal blows, some of which have been stopped and some of which are still pending as many of these cases will ultimately be decided by the Court, which has a conservative majority and has been known to usually side with Trump on his cases.
What To Know
Hampton Dellinger, head of the Office of Special Counsel (OSC), sued the Trump administration earlier this month after the president fired him. Dellinger accused the administration of terminating him without citing “inefficiency, neglect of duty, or malfeasance in office.”
After Dellinger filed his lawsuit, a federal court issued a temporary restraining order reinstating him pending further legal proceedings.
In an unsigned order on Friday, the Supreme Court said it would not interfere with a lower court’s temporary order keeping Dellinger in his position until at least February 26.
The Court did not grant or deny the administration’s request to remove Dellinger immediately. Instead, it deferred action, noting that the lower court’s order would lapse in a few days, leaving the matter unresolved for now.
Kirschner, a former assistant U.S. attorney and frequent Trump critic, spoke in a YouTube video on Saturday about the Court weighing in for the first time amid Trump’s second term, describing it as an “unexpected” loss.
“The first pint of light comes from a most unusual place, a most unexpected place, the United States Supreme Court…In his first trip to the Supreme Court since being sworn in as president, Donald Trump lost. It may be a temporary loss, it may be a minor loss, but it’s a loss,” he said.
Kirschner’s remarks come after Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson and Sonia Sotomayor voted to deny the Trump administration’s request to approve Dellinger’s firing. Justices Neil Gorsuch and Samuel Alito, meanwhile, said they would have voted to wipe the ruling reinstating Dellinger.
The case centers on a 1935 Supreme Court precedent, Humphrey’s Executor v. United States, which permitted Congress to protect independent agency leaders from removal without cause. Several conservative Supreme Court justices have recently questioned this precedent.
The case tests Congress‘s power to shield independent agency heads from presidential removal and could reshape federal workforce protections. It comes after Trump dismissed 17 inspectors general in January as part of a broader effort to consolidate executive power.
The OSC, which is separate from Justice Department special counsels like Jack Smith, plays a crucial role in protecting federal whistleblowers and investigating retaliation claims against government employees.
Trump has publicly railed against whistleblowers and called for the prosecution of an anonymous federal employee who reported him for trying to leverage U.S. aid to Ukraine in exchange for Kyiv helping him with his 2016 campaign. That effort, which Democrats referred to as a quid pro quo, was the basis of Trump’s first impeachment in 2019.
This case represents one of three current lawsuits challenging Trump’s authority to remove independent agency heads. The administration currently faces approximately 70 lawsuits over various executive actions.
What People Are Saying
U.S. District Judge Amy Berman Jackson wrote in her February 12 decision reinstating Dellinger: “Defendants imply that it would be too disruptive to the business of the agency to have Special Counsel Dellinger resume his work. But any disruption to the work of the agency was occasioned by the White House.”
“It’s as if the bull in the china shop looked back over his shoulder and said, ‘What a mess!’” she wrote.
Stephen Kohn, the chairman of the board of National Whistleblower Center, said on February 10 that Dellinger’s ouster was “irresponsible and dangerous.”
He added: “This action undermines a critical government program that has saved taxpayers billions of dollars and is designed to encourage reporting of waste, fraud and abuse of taxpayer dollars. Additionally, the Office of Special Counsel maintains confidential lists of hundreds or thousands of federal employees who have blown the whistle on serious fraud, waste, and abuse. All of whom are now in immediate danger of being exposed.”
OSC Head Hampton Dellinger said in a previous statement: “I am grateful to have the opportunity to continue leading the Office of Special Counsel and I am resuming my work tonight.”
Earlier, he noted the office’s work was “needed now more than ever” citing “unprecedented” civil service firings.
Acting Solicitor General Sarah M. Harris said in a statement last week: “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 whom the president believes should not be entrusted with executive power.”
What Happens Next?
After the temporary order reinstating Dellinger ends this week, it remains to be seen if he will remain in his position beyond that point.
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