The Supreme Court punted on whether or not President Donald Trump is allowed to dismiss Hampton Dellinger, the head of a federal whistleblower protection office, marking the latest development in one of the various legal battles surrounding the new administration’s government reform efforts.
Its decision on Friday comes after the administration filed an emergency appeal requesting that members of the Supreme Court overrule a lower court’s decision to reinstall Dellinger, according to The Hill.
Dellinger, a Biden appointee, leads the Office of Special Counsel. He is in charge of prosecuting misconduct and safeguarding whistleblowers.
The Supreme Court “held in abeyance” the application, meaning Dellinger can remain in his position, at least until the lower court’s decision expires on Wednesday.
Justices Sonia Sotomayor and Ketanji Brown Jackson said, they would have denied the application entirely.
But conservative Justices Neil Gorsuch and Samuel Alito disagreed with their liberal colleagues, saying they would have greenlit the application.
Gorsuch reasoned that a federal judge “effectively commanded the president and other executive branch officials to recognize and work with someone whom the president sought to remove from office,” according to NBC News.
Trump has attempted to fire several federal employees in the first month of his new administration.
Members of his team have voiced frustration about federal judges blocking their efforts to fire workers, block federal funds while handling waste and fraud, and dismantle certain agencies like USAID.
The administration will likely face many more lawsuits like the one from Dellinger, who challenged his firing after Trump dismissed him on Feb. 7.
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