Trump's firing powers on the line in special counsel court battle

A federal judge grappled Wednesday with the extent of President Trump’s power to fire people in his administration, in a case that will shape the White House’s ability to carry out its remake of the federal bureaucracy.

U.S. District Judge Amy Berman Jackson has already put the firing of special counsel Hampton Dellinger on hold. She extended that hold on Wednesday for three more days through Saturday, saying she wanted enough time to deliver a substantive ruling so higher judges, including presumably the Supreme Court, could weigh in on the matter.

The judge acknowledged the hefty stakes and the intense interest that are pressing the case forward fast.

“We’re in some other world right now already,” Judge Jackson told lawyers arguing the case.

Mr. Trump has been prolific in his firings, reaching the most senior of agency heads and the most junior probationary employees as he tries to trim the size of the federal workforce and get rid of people he fears wouldn’t be amenable to his plans.

Mr. Dellinger falls into that latter category.

Mr. Trump’s lawyer said the president wants his own person in the Office of Special Counsel and said he has the power to carry out that wish.

Mr. Dellinger’s lawyers countered by pointing to provisions of the law establishing his office that said he could be removed only for good cause. Mr. Trump provided no such justification, they said.

Courts have generally held that a president can install his own people in critical executive posts, but the law carves out exceptions for some so-called independent agencies whose leaders are supposed to be insulated from political pressure.

Mr. Trump argues those restrictions are unconstitutional.

The Office of Special Counsel acts as a cop for federal personnel matters, protecting whistleblowers, policing Hatch Act violations and monitoring adverse actions against employees. He has an independent duty to report to Congress and the public, as well as the president.

Judge Jackson said that all makes Mr. Dellinger unique among executive branch leaders, with one foot in the administration and the other outside it.

“He gets to tell the administration it’s not doing the right thing, it’s not complying with the law,” she said.

The Justice Department appealed Judge Jackson’s initial order keeping Mr. Dellinger in place until Wednesday.

Judge Jackson said she’d like a little more time to write a reasoned opinion, given the interest of higher judges. She also acknowledged the Supreme Court may not give her much space.

“Given the significance of the constitutional questions presented, though, it is also incumbent upon the Court to give full consideration to all of the arguments advanced during today’s hearing before it finalizes its opinion,” Judge Jackson wrote in an order extending her block on Mr. Dellinger’s firing.

Mr. Trump has argued that Mr. Dellinger, a Biden pick, should remain fired while the case is proceeding, saying every moment he remains is an injury to the president’s power to have his own team in place.

Also complicating the case is Mr. Dellinger’s own actions.

Even as he’s challenging his firing, he has challenged the Trump administration’s firing of some probationary employees, saying their rights were trampled.

The Merit Systems Protection Board agreed this week with Mr. Dellinger’s suggestion to impose a 45-day delay on the firing of six probationary employees the special counsel flagged.

Mr. Dellinger isn’t the only agency leader challenging his firing by Mr. Trump. Among the others are a member of the MSPB, a federal privacy board and a group of inspectors general.