Summary
A federal judge blocked Donald Trump’s attempt to fire Hampton Dellinger as head of the Office of Special Counsel (OSC), citing a 1978 law that allows removal only for “inefficiency, neglect of duty or malfeasance in office.”
Judge Amy Berman Jackson reinstated Dellinger pending a February 26 hearing.
Dellinger called his firing illegal, saying, “The effort to remove me has no factual nor legal basis – none.”
The White House argues the law is unconstitutional, challenging limits on presidential power over independent agencies.
I’m cautiously optimistic they they won’t… Not because I have delusions about them growing some integrity suddenly, but because it means giving up all of their power. Their job would literally be to legally justify Trump’s actions post hock if they give up their authority
They’ve spent years stacking the courts to legislate from the bench, they’ve pushed their own power to the limits. They’re (mostly) not doing it for Trump, they’re doing it for power and their backers. Plus there’s still some neo liberals on the court who will put the process above all else
There’s still the question of what happens if the executive branch just continues to ignore them, but i imagine their common backers want some kind of rudder on the Trump/Elon missile