Summary

A federal judge blocked Donald Trump’s attempt to fire Hampton Dellinger as head of the Office of Special Counsel (OSC), citing a 1978 law that allows removal only for “inefficiency, neglect of duty or malfeasance in office.”

Judge Amy Berman Jackson reinstated Dellinger pending a February 26 hearing.

Dellinger called his firing illegal, saying, “The effort to remove me has no factual nor legal basis – none.”

The White House argues the law is unconstitutional, challenging limits on presidential power over independent agencies.