Summary
A federal judge ruled that Donald Trump exceeded his authority by firing Hampton Dellinger, head of the Office of Special Counsel (OSC), a federal whistleblower agency.
Judge Amy Berman Jackson ordered Dellinger reinstated, rejecting Trump’s claim of broad executive power. She cited Humphrey’s Executor v. U.S., a 1935 Supreme Court case that limits presidential removal of independent agency officials.
The administration argued the OSC law was unconstitutional, but Jackson upheld its protections.
The case is now on appeal.
This case went to SCOTUS once already on an appeal from the Trump administration, and SCOTUS agreed with the judge, not the Trump administration.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bessent_v._Dellinger
https://www.scotusblog.com/2025/02/supreme-court-sidesteps-trumps-effort-to-remove-watchdog-agency-head/