DC Circuit Court Delivers Crushing Blow to Hampton Dellinger, Upholding Presidential Power
In a decisive ruling, the DC Circuit Court of Appeals has rejected Hampton Dellinger’s legal efforts to cling to his position as Special Counsel for the U.S. Office of Special Counsel (OSC), affirming the President’s authority to remove agency heads. The decision, handed down by a bipartisan panel of judges—Karen LeCraft Henderson (appointed by George W. Bush), Patricia Millett (appointed by Barack Obama), and Brett Walker (appointed by Donald Trump)—marks the end of Dellinger’s contentious battle with President Trump.
The court’s ruling leaned heavily on precedents set by Seila Law and Collins, asserting that the U.S. Constitution grants the President broad power to dismiss the head of an agency led by a single officer. “The Constitution prohibits even ‘modest restrictions’ on the President’s power to remove the head of an agency with a single top officer,” the judges wrote, adding that this authority “may not be regulated by Congress or reviewed by the courts.” The panel concluded that the government had met its burden, demonstrating a strong likelihood of success in arguing that the President’s removal power remains intact, regardless of the Special Counsel’s scope or functions.
The court also pointed to Dellinger’s actions as evidence of his overreach. Specifically, the judges highlighted his decision to reinstate thousands of probationary employees fired by Trump, noting, “To be able to obtain the reinstatement of thousands of employees in a single agency, even if only temporarily, with such a vague standard of review seems to suggest the Special Counsel’s powers are not as limited as he claims.” This, they argued, placed Dellinger in direct conflict with Trump’s directives, further justifying his removal.
The saga began last month when President Trump fired Dellinger, a Biden administration holdover, from his role as Special Counsel. Undeterred, Dellinger challenged the dismissal in court, initially finding success before U.S. District Judge Amy Berman Jackson, an Obama appointee, who ordered his reinstatement. However, the DC Circuit Court intervened last week, granting a stay of Jackson’s ruling at the request of the Department of Justice (DOJ). Monday’s decision cemented Dellinger’s defeat, granting the government’s motion for a stay pending appeal and effectively ending his tenure.
Dellinger’s legal maneuvers reached a dramatic peak last week when he filed a motion to dismiss his own appeal, a move the DOJ characterized as an attempt to “prevent the issuance” of an appeals court opinion. Despite his efforts, the court proceeded, delivering a ruling that not only terminated his fight but also set a precedent likely to influence similar cases involving figures like Cathy Harris and Gwynne Wilcox.
In response to the decision, Dellinger announced his surrender. “I’m ending my legal battle, so my time as Special Counsel and head of the U.S. Office of Special Counsel (OSC) is now over,” he said in a statement, closing the chapter on his resistance to Trump’s authority.
The DOJ had accused Dellinger of stonewalling the appeals process, pointing to his Friday filing—where his attorneys argued the appeal was “moot” and requested each side bear its own costs—as a last-ditch effort to avoid a definitive ruling. The court, however, saw through the tactic, issuing a clear and authoritative opinion on Monday.
This landmark decision reinforces the President’s constitutional prerogative over executive appointments and could ripple through ongoing disputes over agency leadership in the federal government.
