Special Poll
The Supreme Court declined to immediately rule on a request from President Trump’s administration to approve the firing of the head of a whistleblower protection office, leaving the official in place for the time being.
The administration had filed an emergency application asking the court to overturn a lower court’s decision that temporarily reinstated U.S. special counsel Hampton Dellinger. His office is responsible for protecting whistleblowers and prosecuting misconduct within the federal workforce.
Instead of issuing a definitive ruling, the justices delayed action, stating that the matter would remain unresolved until the lower court’s order expires on Wednesday. This effectively means that Dellinger will stay in his position for at least a few more days.
Two of the court’s liberal justices, Sonia Sotomayor and Ketanji Brown Jackson, voted against granting the administration’s request to approve the firing. Meanwhile, conservative justices Samuel Alito and Neil Gorsuch believed the court should have overturned the ruling that reinstated Dellinger. They argued that the lower court’s decision had already evolved into a matter worthy of appeal and should not be allowed to stand.
“Each additional day where the order stands only serves to confirm the point,” Gorsuch wrote in his dissent, with Alito joining him.
This case is one of several lawsuits challenging Trump’s removal of independent federal agency leaders who have statutory protections against dismissal. The legal battles reflect the administration’s broader effort to increase White House control over federal agencies and reshape the executive branch.