Head of watchdog agency ends lawsuit to stop his firing by Trump – The Washington Post

Head of watchdog agency ends lawsuit to stop his firing by Trump – The Washington Post
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Excerpt:

The head of an independent watchdog agency said Thursday he was dropping his lawsuit challenging President Donald Trump’s attempt to fire him without cause, ending a case that posed a key question about whether independent government watchdogs can be summarily fired.

Hampton Dellinger, head of the Office of Special Counsel that protects federal government workers and whistleblowers from mistreatment, said he decided to stop fighting his ouster after a federal appeals court on Wednesday allowed the administration to remove him while his case proceeded.

Had Dellinger’s case ended up at the Supreme Court, the justices would have had an opportunity to decide whether restrictions on his removal encroached on the president’s executive authority under the Constitution. A ruling against him could have permanently weakened the Office of Special Counsel, stripping it of autonomy from the administration it is supposed to police.