US judge declares Trump’s firing of watchdog agency head illegal

By Reuters 2 March 2025, 4:55 am

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A US judge declares President Donald Trump’s firing of the head of a federal watchdog agency illegal, in an early test of the scope of presidential power likely to be decided at the US Supreme Court.

US District Judge Amy Berman Jackson in Washington has previously ruled Hampton Dellinger, the head of the Office of Special Counsel who is responsible for protecting whistleblowers, can remain in his post pending a ruling.

Berman says in her ruling that upholding Trump’s ability to fire Dellinger would give him “a constitutional license to bully officials in the executive branch into doing his will.”