WASHINGTON, March 2, 2025 (BSS/AFP) - A federal judge ruled Saturday that
limits on President Donald Trump's power to fire the head of an independent
watchdog agency are constitutional, teeing up a likely Supreme Court
showdown.

The case revolves around the White House's February 7 dismissal of Hampton
Dellinger, chief of the Office of Special Counsel.

His small agency investigates whistleblower complaints and protects federal
workers' rights, among various other roles, and could possibly be a
significant player in pushing back against Trump and Elon Musk's efforts to
fire swaths of federal employees.

District Judge Amy Berman Jackson had previously ordered Dellinger
temporarily reinstated while she considered the case, but on Saturday issued
a ruling that his dismissal had been "unlawful."

She said there were specific legal reasons for which the agency head could be
fired by the president, but "the curt email from the White House informing
the Special Counsel that he was terminated contained no reasons whatsoever."

She further rejected the White House's argument that the unique restrictions
blocking the president from firing the special counsel were unconstitutional.

"The elimination of the restrictions... 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," said
Jackson.

The case is almost certain to be appealed and eventually end up in the
Supreme Court.

The conservative-dominated bench, which includes three Trump-nominated
justices, previously declined to block Jackson's temporary reinstatement,
saying it would wait for her final ruling.

The Supreme Court is primed to play a significant role in what some experts
are suggesting is a looming constitutional crisis as the president tests the
limits of his executive power.

Since taking office in January, Trump has launched a campaign led by Musk,
the world's richest person, to unilaterally downsize or dismantle swaths of
the US government.

Numerous court cases challenging Trump's actions continue to work their way
through the courts.