WASHINGTON — The Trump administration wants the Supreme Court to permit the firing of the head of the federal agency dedicated to protecting whistleblowers, according to documents obtained Sunday that would mark the first appeal to the justices since President Donald Trump took office.
The emergency appeal is the start of what probably will be a steady stream of lawyers for the Republican president and his administration seeking to undo lower-court rulings that have slowed his second-term agenda.
The Justice Department’s filing, obtained by The Associated Press, asks the conservative-majority court to lift a judge’s court order temporarily reinstating Hampton Dellinger as the leader of the Office of Special Counsel.
Dellinger has argued that the law says he can be dismissed only for problems with the performance of his job, none of which was cited in the email dismissing him.
The petition came hours after a divided appeals court panel refused on procedural grounds to lift the order, which was filed Wednesday and expires Feb. 26.
The case is not expected to be docketed until after the Supreme Court returns from the Presidents Day holiday weekend. The justices would not act until Tuesday at the earliest.
The case began last week when Dellinger sued over his removal as head of the Office of Special Counsel, which is responsible for guarding the federal workforce from illegal personnel actions, such as retaliation for whistleblowing.
He was appointed by Democratic President Joe Biden and confirmed by the Senate to a five-year term in 2024.
Dellinger called the office’s work “needed now more than ever,” noting the “unprecedented” number of firings, without cause, of federal employees with civil service protections in recent weeks by the Trump administration.
The administration argues that the order reinstating Dellinger for two weeks wrongly restricts what the president can do.
