Judge temporarily reinstalls fired head of whistleblower protection office

A federal judge temporarily reinstalled the head of the Office of the Special Counsel, allowing Hampton Dellinger to return to his post after he was fired Friday by President Trump.

The order from Judge Amy Berman Jackson temporarily rebuffs Dellinger’s firing, allowing him to return to work through the end of the day Thursday.

Dellinger sued Monday after he said he was fired from his post “in a one-sentence email,” removing him from an office that helps protect whistleblowers.

Dellinger, a Biden appointee, said the move violates his appointment to a five-year term in the office.

The OSC provides another avenue for whistleblowers to report concerns about government wrongdoing and works to protect them from reprisal. It also responds to potential violations of the Hatch Act, the law that guards against electioneering by federal employees.

Dellinger’s attorneys argue his firing violates laws stating he may only be removed for cause, while undercutting the very agency designed to review a growing list of other recent firings.

“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,” the suit says.

Jackson did not weigh in on the merits of the litigation, nodding to prior court cases in describing it as a “first blush” of the case.

“Hampton Dellinger shall continue to serve as the Special Counsel of the Office of Special Counsel, the position he occupied at 7:22 p.m. on Friday, February 7, 2025, when he received an email from the President, and the defendants may not deny him access to the resources or materials of that office or recognize the authority of any other person as Special Counsel,” she wrote.

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