{"id":2410547,"date":"2025-03-06T14:29:00","date_gmt":"2025-03-06T19:29:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/federal-watchdog-head-ends-lawsuit-challenging-trump-firing-washington-examiner\/"},"modified":"2025-03-06T14:35:22","modified_gmt":"2025-03-06T19:35:22","slug":"federal-watchdog-head-ends-lawsuit-challenging-trump-firing-washington-examiner","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/federal-watchdog-head-ends-lawsuit-challenging-trump-firing-washington-examiner\/","title":{"rendered":"Federal watchdog head ends lawsuit challenging Trump firing &#8211; Washington Examiner"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">22<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Ffederal-watchdog-head-ends-lawsuit-challenging-trump-firing-washington-examiner%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2410547&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>Hampton\u200b Dellinger, the federal\u200b watchdog appointed by President Biden, has ended his lawsuit contesting \u200dhis\u2064 firing by President Trump from the Office of Special Counsel. Dellinger was dismissed before completing his five-year term, which led him \u2063to challenge the legality of \u2064his termination, \u200ca \u200dcase that\u2064 escalated into broader questions regarding the president&#8217;s\u2063 authority over <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/kevin-mccarthy-calls-on-pentagon-to-restore-nsa-general-counsel-michael-ellis-to-active-service\/\" title=\"Kevin McCarthy Calls on Pentagon to Restore NSA General Counsel Michael Ellis to Active Service\">civil service positions<\/a>. \u200cThe U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit recently ruled in \u2062favor \u2062of Trump, allowing Dellinger&#8217;s firing to proceed, prompting Dellinger to withdraw his suit. He stated that his \u200blegal battle was intended to protect whistleblowers \u200crather than for\u200c his own job security. His decision not\u2063 to pursue the case further means that meaningful \u2063questions regarding\u2062 executive power adn the \u200cprotection of autonomous agency officials may not be addressed in the Supreme Court for now. Consequently, \u2063attention\u200c may turn\u2062 to other officials Trump has sought to remove, potentially setting the stage for <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/student-athletes-notch-victory-in-high-court-on-road-to-full-compensation\/\" title=\"Student Athletes Notch Victory in High ... on Road to Full Compensation\">future legal challenges<\/a> regarding presidential\u2062 authority.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><\/p>\n<p><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><\/p>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><span class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-button\"><i class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-icon td-icon-mobile\"><\/i><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><span class=\"tdb-header-search-button-mob dropdown-toggle\" data-toggle=\"dropdown\"><i class=\"tdb-mobile-search-icon td-icon-search\"><\/i><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><span class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-button\"><i class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-icon td-icon-mobile\"><\/i><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<div class=\"tdb-drop-down-search\" aria-labelledby=\"td-header-search-button\">\n<div class=\"tdb-drop-down-search-inner\">\n<form method=\"get\" class=\"tdb-search-form\" action=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/\"><\/form>\n<div class=\"tdb-aj-search\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/#\" role=\"button\" aria-label=\"Search\" class=\"tdb-head-search-btn dropdown-toggle\" data-toggle=\"dropdown\"><i class=\"tdb-search-icon td-icon-search\"><\/i><\/a><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<h1 class=\"tdb-title-text\">Federal watchdog head ends lawsuit challenging Trump firing<\/h1>\n<div><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-title-line\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<div id=\"Brid_2030192\" class=\"tpd-featured-video bridtv\"><\/div>\n<p>Hampton Dellinger, a <a href=\"http:\/\/washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/joe-biden\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"\">Biden<\/a>-appointed federal watchdog head, ended his <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/lawsuits\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"lawsuit\">lawsuit<\/a> challenging President <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/donald-trump\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"Donald Trump\">Donald Trump<\/a>&lsquo;s decision to fire him.<\/p>\n<p>Dellinger was fired from his position at the Office of Special Counsel before his five-year term was set to expire. He sued the Trump administration over his firing, but the case quickly grew into a larger battle surrounding the legality of Trump&rsquo;s <a href=\"https:\/\/amzn.to\/3YuVZYV\">sweeping civil service layoffs<\/a>.<\/p>\n<div class=\"recommended-stories\">\n<h2>Recommended Stories<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/justice\/3339254\/judge-facing-maga-impeachment-calls-trump-funding-freeze\/\">Judge facing MAGA impeachment calls extends block on Trump funding freeze<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/justice\/3339215\/hunter-biden-art-sales-dried-up\/\">Hunter Biden ran out of money as art sales dried up, court filings say<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/justice\/3338945\/dc-appeals-court-allows-trump-fire-federal-watchdog-for-now\/\">DC appeals court allows Trump to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/dc-appeals-court-allows-trump-to-fire-federal-watchdog-for-now-washington-examiner\/\" title=\"DC ... ... allows ... to fire federal watchdog \u2014 for now - Washington Examiner\">fire federal watchdog &#038;mdash<\/a>; for now<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"article-paywall\">\n<p>On Wednesday, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit issued a ruling that allowed Dellinger&rsquo;s firing to go ahead while the case continued, prompting him to throw in the towel.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;I think the circuit judges erred badly because their willingness to sign off on my ouster &mdash; even if presented as possibly temporary &mdash; immediately erases the independence Congress provided for my position, a vital protection that has been accepted as lawful for nearly fifty years,&rdquo; Dellinger said of the ruling.<\/p>\n<p>In his statement announcing the end of his lawsuit, Dellinger maintained that the reason for his lawsuit wasn&rsquo;t his own employment but to protect those who report wrongdoing from retaliation.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;My fight to stay on the job was not for me, but rather for the ideal that OSC should be as Congress<br \/>intended: an independent watchdog and a safe, trustworthy place for whistleblowers to report<br \/>wrongdoing and be protected from retaliation. Now I will look to make a difference &mdash; as an<br \/>attorney, a North Carolinian, and an American &mdash; in other ways,&rdquo; Dellinger wrote.<\/p>\n<p>Dellinger&rsquo;s decision to drop his legal fight means that a significant test of executive authority in the president&rsquo;s ability to remove officials with statutory protections will not reach the Supreme Court, for now.<\/p>\n<p>His petition <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/policy\/infrastructure\/3338478\/trump-administration-ordered-temporarily-reinstate-fired-usda-workers\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"\">prompted<\/a> a Wednesday Merit Systems Protection Board order for the Trump administration to temporarily reinstate more than 5,600 fired U.S. Department of Agriculture employees.<\/p>\n<p>Dellinger&rsquo;s case raised broader questions about whether the longstanding precedent set in&nbsp;<em>Humphrey&rsquo;s Executor v. United States<\/em>&nbsp;(1935), which limits the president&rsquo;s power to remove certain <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/judge-reinstates-merit-systems-protection-board-chairwoman-fired-by-trump-washington-examiner\/\" title=\"Judge reinstates Merit Systems Protection Board chairwoman fired by ... - Washington Examiner\">independent agency officials<\/a>, remains intact in an era where conservative legal circles are eager to expand presidential control over the executive branch.<\/p>\n<p>Had Dellinger&rsquo;s case been fully litigated, it may have offered the Supreme Court an opportunity to revisit&nbsp;<em>Humphrey&rsquo;s Executor<\/em>, particularly in light of more recent rulings such as&nbsp;<em>Seila Law v. CFPB<\/em>&nbsp;(2020), which struck down removal protections for the head of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/justice\/3312070\/lawsuits-targeting-trump-executive-orders\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"\"><strong>HERE ARE THE LAWSUITS TARGETING TRUMP&rsquo;S EXECUTIVE ORDERS<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n<p>While some legal experts viewed Dellinger&rsquo;s position as weaker, given that he led a single-member agency rather than a multi-member commission, his case could have served as a key vehicle for revisiting the broader question of how much deference courts should give Congress in structuring executive agencies.<\/p>\n<p>With Dellinger&rsquo;s legal challenge abandoned, the focus may shift to other officials Trump has sought to remove, such as MSPB chair Cathy Harris. If similar cases move forward, they could provide a fresh pathway for testing the limits of presidential removal power and potentially creating new precedents.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p> <script data-cfasync=\"false\" src=\"http:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/cdn-cgi\/scripts\/5c5dd728\/cloudflare-static\/email-decode.min.js\"><\/script><script>!function(){var g=window;g.googletag=g.googletag||{},g.googletag.cmd=g.googletag.cmd||[],g.googletag.cmd.push(function(){g.googletag.pubads().setTargeting(\"has-featured-video\",\"true\")})}();<\/script><script>var _bp=_bp||[];_bp.push({\"div\":\"Brid_2030192\",\"obj\":{\"id\":\"27789\",\"width\":\"1280\",\"height\":\"720\",\"stickyDirection\":\"below\",\"video\":\"2030192\"}});<\/script><script defer src=\"https:\/\/services.brid.tv\/player\/build\/brid.min.js\"><\/script><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Federal watchdog Dellinger drops lawsuit against Trump firing<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3710,"featured_media":2410550,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/AP25039051422117.webp","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[538],"tags":[51656,36719,4585,51657],"class_list":["post-2410547","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-washington-examiner","tag-federalwatchdog","tag-governmentaccountability","tag-lawsuit","tag-trumpfiring"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/AP25039051422117.webp","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2410547","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3710"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2410547"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2410547\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2410552,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2410547\/revisions\/2410552"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2410550"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2410547"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2410547"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2410547"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}