The Trump administration has turned to the U.S. Supreme Court, seeking to remove the head of the Office of Special Counsel, an agency overseeing federal workers and whistleblowers.
This is the first time President Donald Trump has sought the court’s intervention during his efforts to reduce public spending and reorganize federal agencies, facing legal challenges along the way.
On February 7, the White House dismissed Hampton Dellinger from his role, but Dellinger sued and won a district court ruling ordering his reinstatement.
On Saturday, the U.S. Court of Appeals rejected the administration’s bid to reverse this decision.
The Trump team filed an emergency appeal to the Supreme Court on Sunday, calling the lower court’s action an “unprecedented attack on the separation of powers.”
The administration argued that no court has ever ordered a president to keep an agency leader they want to replace.
It also claimed that such court orders hinder the president’s ability to make executive decisions and replace officials.
Since starting his second term, Trump has launched initiatives to cut down government size with the help of his major supporter, Elon Musk.
However, the administration has faced strong resistance, including several court orders halting actions such as freezing $3 trillion in federal funds, altering worker policies, and relocating transgender women inmates to male prisons.