Official who safeguards whistleblowers drops lawsuit protesting his firing by Trump

Special Counsel Hampton Dellinger said in a statement to Government Executive that he is dropping his lawsuit to reverse his removal by Donald Trump, enabling the president to name his own person to lead the office that protects federal employees and whistleblowers from prohibited personnel practices.

A district judge on March 1 blocked Dellinger’s firing, but the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit on Wednesday allowed for him to be removed while it considers the Trump administration’s appeal. 

“This new ruling means that OSC will be run by someone totally beholden to the president for the months that would pass before I could get a final decision from the U.S. Supreme Court,” Dellinger said in the statement. “I think the circuit judges erred badly because their willingness to sign off on my ouster — even if presented as possibly temporary — immediately erases the independence Congress provided for my position, a vital protection that has been accepted as lawful for nearly fifty years. Until now. And given the circuit court’s adverse ruling, I think my odds of ultimately prevailing before the Supreme Court are long.”

Dellinger, who was appointed by former President Joe Biden and confirmed by the Senate in 2024 for a five-year term, on Feb. 7 received a termination notice from the White House without a justification for the firing. His lawsuit argued that special counsels can only be removed for "inefficiency, neglect of duty or malfeasance in office.” 

The Office of Special Counsel did not immediately provide information on who is acting head of the agency. Trump had named Veterans Affairs Secretary Doug Collins as acting leader of OSC, but shortly thereafter the district judge reinstated Dellinger while she considered his lawsuit. 

Dellinger on Wednesday secured the temporary reinstatement of thousands of probationary employees at the Agriculture Department after determining that the mass firings of recently hired, promoted or transferred government workers were unlawful. 

Thursday would have been the one-year anniversary of Dellinger being sworn in as special counsel. 

During his tenure, he accused senior Biden White House official Neera Tanden of violating the Hatch Act by using social media to help raise money for political candidates. He also determined that former Navy Secretary Carlos Del Toro broke that law over statements he made about the 2024 presidential election. 

In his statement, Dellinger thanked OSC staff, his legal team and, “above all,” federal employees. 

“You deserve better, much better, than your recent unfair and unlawful treatment from too many parts of the United States government,” he said about government workers.