Hampton Dellinger, special counsel, resigns, removing roadblock to Donald Trump firings
Special counsel Hampton Dellinger resigned his post on Thursday, removing himself as a hurdle to President Trump's plans to fire thousands of federal employees.
His departure marks a major legal victory for Mr. Trump, removing someone who had emerged as a major impediment to the president’s agenda.
Mr. Dellinger led the Office of Special Counsel, which acts as a watchdog for federal employees who face adverse personnel decisions. This week alone, he secured a delay in firing more than 5,000 Agriculture Department employees.
After an appeals court loss Wednesday, he said he was “ending my legal battle.”
“My fight to stay on the job was not for me, but rather for the ideal that OSC should be as Congress intended: an independent watchdog,” he said.