Judge Orders Fired Ethics Official Reinstated

UPDATE Feb 11, 2025 1:00 AM CST

A judge ordered Monday that the head of the Office of Special Counsel be reinstated after the Trump administration fired him Friday night. Hampton Dellinger filed a lawsuit arguing his termination was illegal, and US District Judge Amy Berman Jackson ruled that he must be allowed to continue serving through midnight Thursday as she considers his request for a temporary restraining order that would allow him to stay on the job, the AP reports. Dellinger responded with a statement saying he was resuming his work, and the administration responded by filing papers indicating it will appeal the order.

Feb 10, 2025 7:00 PM CST

President Trump escalated his campaign against federal watchdogs on Monday, when he removed the government's top ethics official. David Huitema had been director of the Office of Government Ethics, an independent agency that oversees the executive branch's ethics rules and financial disclosures, CBS News reports. Also on Monday, Hampton Dellinger filed a lawsuit contending his firing by Trump days before as head of another independent federal ethics agency—the Office of Special Counsel—was illegal. Both Huitema and Dellinger were confirmed by the Senate last year to serve five-year terms, per the AP.

Doug Collins, who was recently confirmed as secretary of the Department of Veterans Affairs, was named acting head of both agencies. The Office of Special Counsel investigates claims by whistleblowers of reprisal and facilitates employee reports of wrongdoing in government. Dellinger, who said he was fired in an email from the White House personnel director on Friday evening, argues in his federal court suit that special counsels can be ousted by the president "only for inefficiency, neglect of duty, or malfeasance in office." He's seeking a court order to reinstate him. "The effort to remove me has no factual nor legal basis," Dellinger told the AP in an email.

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In his first week back in office, Trump fired at least 17 inspectors general, also without giving reasons. The Project on Government Oversight objected to those firings and Huitema's, bringing Elon Musk into it. "The firings remove our systems of checks and balances at a time when the wealthiest man in the world is operating inside the government with vast and unprecedented financial conflicts of interest," said a spokesperson, per CBS. "So it's particularly alarming that the administration has fired the official in specifically charged with policing ethics." (More President Trump stories.)