US Court Temporarily Allows Trump to Remove Special Counsel Chief

A US federal appeals court has temporarily allowed President Donald Trump to remove Hampton Dellinger, the head of the independent Office of Special Counsel (OSC), after he launched an investigation into Trump’s mass firings of federal employees, CE Report quotes Anadolu Agency

In a brief order issued Wednesday, the US Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit granted the administration’s request to stay a lower court ruling that had blocked Dellinger’s dismissal. The court said the Trump administration met the "stringent requirements for a stay pending appeal" and will expedite its review of the case.

Dellinger, a Biden appointee, had been investigating the controversial firing of probationary federal employees by Trump. A lower court previously ruled his removal violated federal law, which limits dismissals to cases of inefficiency, neglect of duty, or malfeasance.

The appeals court's decision overrides that ruling for now, allowing Trump to proceed with the dismissal. Dellinger may appeal to the US Supreme Court, which has already intervened in the case once before. A full court opinion is expected in the coming weeks.