Federal judge rules Trump’s firing of Office of Special Counsel director was unlawful, allowing him to remain in the position

A federal judge in the D.C. District ruled Saturday night that President Donald Trump's firing of Hampton Dellinger, head of the Office of Special Counsel, was illegal and thus can remain in office.

District of Columbia District Judge Amy Berman Jackson sided with the office director and wrote in her ruling that her decision is consistent with Supreme Court precedent.

The judge argued that removing restrictions protecting Hampton's tenured position from an allegedly arbitrary dismissal would "find that the elimination of the restrictions on plaintiff’s removal would be fatal to the defining and essential feature of the Office of Special Counsel as it was conceived by Congress and signed into law by the President: its independence. The Court concludes that they must stand."

Shortly after Jackson's ruling, the Trump administration filed its notice of appeal.

The ruling comes after Dellinger, appointed by former President Joe Biden to head the Office of the Special Prosecutor, filed a lawsuit against the Trump administration in federal court in Washington, D.C., following his dismissal last Feb. 7.

In her ruling, Jackson also ordered the defendants in the case, including the director of the Office of Management and Budget, Russ Vought, and Treasury Secretary, Scott Bessent, to recognize Dellinger in his position.