Biden appointee Hampton Dellinger asks justices to find his termination without cause is illegal.
The head of a whistleblower-protection agency whom the Trump administration wants to fire urged the U.S. Supreme Court on Feb. 18 to leave in place a lower court order blocking the firing.
The closely watched emergency government application, Bessent v. Dellinger, is the first appeal by the second Trump administration to the nation’s highest court. Applicant Scott Bessent is participating in the litigation in his official capacity as U.S. Treasury secretary.
The respondent, Hampton Dellinger, said an emailed notice he received on Feb. 7 informed him he was being fired and did not explain why. New administrations routinely fire government officials without providing a reason. President Donald Trump was inaugurated on Jan. 20.
Dellinger argues that according to the law, he may only be terminated for certain reasons during his appointment.
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