SCOTUS upholds pause on firing of watchdog head
The White House fired the head of the Office of Special Counsel but a district court ordered his reinstatement.
A rainbow and passing storm clouds are seen over the U.S. Supreme Court
📸 Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images/AFP Kevin Dietsch / GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA / Getty Images via AFP
WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — The Supreme Court of the US (SCOTUS) on Friday temporarily blocked a request from President Donald Trump to allow him to fire the head of a whistleblower protection agency, weighing in on his executive actions for the first time since his inauguration.
The decision, however, noted that the court could return to the demand next week, when a trial judge’s temporary restraining order (TRO) keeping the watchdog official in office was due to expire.
“The application to vacate the order... is held in abeyance until February 26, when the TRO is set to expire,” the unsigned SCOTUS decision said.
The Trump administration had asked the Supreme Court to allow the president to fire Hampton Dellinger, who leads the Office of Special Counsel.
It was Trump’s first appeal to the top court since returning to office and issuing a flurry of contested executive orders.
The White House fired Dellinger on 7 February but the lawyer sued the president and a district court ordered he be reinstated.
The US Court of Appeals had rejected the Trump administration’s request to overrule the decision.