A federal judge hinted Wednesday that she may extend a temporary restraining order which has kept Hampton Dellinger, the head of the Office of Special Counsel, in his job after President Donald Trump announced his termination earlier this month.
U.S. District Court Judge Amy Berman Jackson called the matter “an extraordinarily difficult constitutional issue” during a Wednesday hearing before telling lawyers for Dellinger and the government that she will take the matter under advisement. Jackson issued the temporary restraining order 14 days ago, meaning she must act by Wednesday evening to extend the order.
Earlier this month, liberal Supreme Court justices Sonia Sotomayor and Ketanji Brown Jackson voted to outright deny the administration’s request to approve the firing.
Conservative justices Neil Gorsuch and Samuel Alito dissented, saying the lower court overstepped. They also cast doubt on whether courts have the authority to restore to office someone the president has fired. While acknowledging that some officials appointed by the president have contested their removal, Gorsuch wrote in his opinion that “those officials have generally sought remedies like backpay, not injunctive relief like reinstatement.”
Since Jan. 20, dozens of lawsuits have been filed over the administration’s actions, including the president’s birthright citizenship order, immigration policies, federal funding freezes, federal employee buyouts, Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency and legal action against FBI and DOJ employees.
Fox News’ Louis Casiano contributed to this report.
Anders Hagstrom is a reporter with Fox News Digital covering national politics and major breaking news events. Send tips to Anders.Hagstrom@Fox.com, or on Twitter: @Hagstrom_Anders.
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