MrBeast Anonced

Just one day after an appeals court sided temporarily with the Trump administration to remove Hampton Dellinger from his role as special counsel, the onetime government watchdog announced Thursday that he is dropping his lawsuit.

Dellinger was appointed to the role by former President Joe Biden and confirmed by the Senate in 2024. He was expected to serve a five-year term. As the special counsel for the Office of Special Counsel, Dellinger played a key role for the agency that enforces and investigates federal protections for whistleblowers and political corruption.

The Office of Special Counsel where Dellinger worked is unrelated to the special counsel that investigated President Donald Trump for multiple criminal indictments including his alleged subversion of the 2020 election or his alleged illegal retention of classified documents at his Mar-a-Lago estate.

Dellinger was fired over email on Feb. 7. In an abrupt message from Sergio Gor, director of White House presidential personnel, Dellinger was given no cause for his termination other than it being Trump’s wishes.

He then sued, claiming that existing laws forbade his removal unless the president could provide specific cause, like neglect of duty or malfeasance.

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit ruled late Wednesday that Dellinger would be removed while the merits of the case were hashed out in court. U.S. District Judge Amy Berman Jackson had already ruled that his removal was unlawful, and a request for comment on why Dellinger opted to drop the litigation at this stage was not immediately returned.

The Supreme Court ruled in February that Dellinger would be allowed to stay at his job temporarily after the court rejected the administration’s emergency bid to overturn Jackson’s decision.

Justice Department lawyers have argued that Dellinger was properly removed from his post and that attempts by the courts to retain him were an “unprecedented intrusion into the president’s authority.”

In a statement shared with HuffPost on Thursday, Dellinger explained his decision.Just one day after an appeals court sided temporarily with the Trump administration to remove Hampton Dellinger from his role as special counsel, the onetime government watchdog announced Thursday that he is dropping his lawsuit.

Dellinger was appointed to the role by former President Joe Biden and confirmed by the Senate in 2024. He was expected to serve a five-year term. As the special counsel for the Office of Special Counsel, Dellinger played a key role for the agency that enforces and investigates federal protections for whistleblowers and political corruption.

The Office of Special Counsel where Dellinger worked is unrelated to the special counsel that investigated President Donald Trump for multiple criminal indictments including his alleged subversion of the 2020 election or his alleged illegal retention of classified documents at his Mar-a-Lago estate.

Dellinger was fired over email on Feb. 7. In an abrupt message from Sergio Gor, director of White House presidential personnel, Dellinger was given no cause for his termination other than it being Trump’s wishes.

He then sued, claiming that existing laws forbade his removal unless the president could provide specific cause, like neglect of duty or malfeasance.

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit ruled late Wednesday that Dellinger would be removed while the merits of the case were hashed out in court. U.S. District Judge Amy Berman Jackson had already ruled that his removal was unlawful, and a request for comment on why Dellinger opted to drop the litigation at this stage was not immediately returned.

The Supreme Court ruled in February that Dellinger would be allowed to stay at his job temporarily after the court rejected the administration’s emergency bid to overturn Jackson’s decision.

Justice Department lawyers have argued that Dellinger was properly removed from his post and that attempts by the courts to retain him were an “unprecedented intrusion into the president’s authority.”

In a statement shared with HuffPost on Thursday, Dellinger explained his decision.Just one day after an appeals court sided temporarily with the Trump administration to remove Hampton Dellinger from his role as special counsel, the onetime government watchdog announced Thursday that he is dropping his lawsuit.

Dellinger was appointed to the role by former President Joe Biden and confirmed by the Senate in 2024. He was expected to serve a five-year term. As the special counsel for the Office of Special Counsel, Dellinger played a key role for the agency that enforces and investigates federal protections for whistleblowers and political corruption.

The Office of Special Counsel where Dellinger worked is unrelated to the special counsel that investigated President Donald Trump for multiple criminal indictments including his alleged subversion of the 2020 election or his alleged illegal retention of classified documents at his Mar-a-Lago estate.

Dellinger was fired over email on Feb. 7. In an abrupt message from Sergio Gor, director of White House presidential personnel, Dellinger was given no cause for his termination other than it being Trump’s wishes.

He then sued, claiming that existing laws forbade his removal unless the president could provide specific cause, like neglect of duty or malfeasance.

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit ruled late Wednesday that Dellinger would be removed while the merits of the case were hashed out in court. U.S. District Judge Amy Berman Jackson had already ruled that his removal was unlawful, and a request for comment on why Dellinger opted to drop the litigation at this stage was not immediately returned.

The Supreme Court ruled in February that Dellinger would be allowed to stay at his job temporarily after the court rejected the administration’s emergency bid to overturn Jackson’s decision.

Justice Department lawyers have argued that Dellinger was properly removed from his post and that attempts by the courts to retain him were an “unprecedented intrusion into the president’s authority.”

In a statement shared with HuffPost on Thursday, Dellinger explained his decision.