President Trump is appealing to the Supreme Court to fire the head of a partisan government ethics watchdog agency. It is President Trump’s first appeal from his to reach the nation’s highest court.
Trump Justice Department filed for emergency relief with the Supreme Court:
“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.”
President Trump wants to fire Hampton Dellinger, who leads the Office of Special Counsel. He did fire him, but Dellinger won his job back on appeal because Trump didn’t show cause.
A federal district court temporarily blocked Dellinger’s dismissal while it considered his case, and the US Circuit Court of Appeals for the DC Circuit late Saturday declined to overrule that decision. Within hours of that decision, the Justice Department prepared its appeal to the Supreme Court.
According to a copy of the appeal obtained by CNN, the Justice Department described the district court’s ruling as an “unprecedented assault on the separation of powers. ”
“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 and to prevent the president from relying on his preferred replacement,” the administration asserts in its appeal.
President Trump wants his own staff in place.
Dellinger is notorious for using the Hatch Act. Dellinger is also considered a subversive.
At this point, the Supreme Court might reject the case. Trump could always send Dellinger to an outpost in Alaska.
This is the real problem. The Courts want to tell the President who he can hire and fire:
Devastating point made by the Solicitor General in the Special Counsel (Dellinger) case:
“No one [ever] imagined that the President might need to obtain the advice and consent of a federal district court.” https://t.co/9SwVMcO34A pic.twitter.com/2KiRDNIbvQ
— Andy Grewal (@ProfGrewal) February 17, 2025
I’ve been wondering why this judge was so invested in ensuring that Dellinger kept access…
Perhaps this is it…
They have some whistleblower trap setup and they need someone on the inside to enact it… pic.twitter.com/do7uf52ili
— Cody Northwood (@codynorthwood) February 17, 2025
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