Federal Judge Sides With Ethics Watchdog Protecting Whistleblowers Fired By Trump and Reinstates Him

A federal judge has reinstated the head of a federal ethics agency after President Donald Trump tried to quietly fire him, marking the latest in a series of illegal terminations attempted by the Trump administration.

Special Counsel Hampton Dellinger, the leader of the Office of Special Counsel, filed a lawsuit alleging wrongful termination on Monday after being fired through a one-sentence email received on Friday night.

Judge Amy Berman Jackson ruled that Dellinger be allowed to return to work in the coming days while awaiting the presentation of other legal arguments regarding the case. During this time, Dellinger must retain access to his office's resources, and the Trump administration is barred from recognizing "the authority of any other person as Special Counsel."

"I am grateful to have the opportunity to continue leading the Office of Special Counsel and I am resuming my work tonight," Dellinger said in a statement.

Dellinger's office is tasked with protecting whistleblowers from government retaliation, allowing them to safely report concerns of crime or misconduct within the government. It is also charged with the enforcement of ethics legislation such as the Hatch Act, which prevents federal employees from becoming involved in political campaigns and safeguards the employment rights of military veterans. An appointee of President Barack Obama, Dellinger's position carries a five-year term following confirmation through the Senate.

According to federal law, he "may be removed by the President only for inefficiency, neglect of duty, or malfeasance."

Recently, Trump unlawfully fired labor watchdog Gwynne Wilcox, who chaired the National Labor Relations Board, before her term was set to conclude in 2028. Wilcox stated that she had been fired for a "blatantly political purpose that flies in the face of the NLRB's independent status."

Furthermore, Phyllis Fong, the inspector general of the US Department of Agriculture, was forcibly removed from her office after refusing to comply with the Trump administration's termination of her position. Fong cited the independent Council of the Inspectors General on Integrity and Efficiency (CIGIE), which declared that the dismissals "do not comply with the requirements set out in law and therefore are not effective at this time."

"The recent spate of terminations of protected civil service employees under the new presidential administration has created controversies, both about the lawfulness of these actions and about potential retaliation against whistleblowers. The OSC is statutorily tasked with receiving such reports, investigating them, and taking appropriate action," says the lawsuit.

"The President's unlawful attempt to remove Special Counsel Dellinger from his office directly violates the modest but vital protections that Congress put in place and renders the OSC and the Special Counsel unable to fulfill their statutory mandate."