The Supreme Court halts the Trump administration's attempt to dismiss..

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The Supreme Court halts the Trump administration's attempt to dismiss the agency's chief of whistleblower protection.

The ruling permits Biden appointee Hampton Dellinger to continue leading the Office of Special Counsel through at least February 26. The supreme court maintained that timetable and would not act further until then.

Ketanji Brown Jackson and Sonia Sotomayor, both liberal justices, voted against the administration's motion to approve the dismissal.

Conservative justices Neil Gorsuch and Samuel Alito dissented, arguing that the lower court went too far and raising questions about whether courts have the power to reinstate a person who has been fired by the president. In his conclusion, Gorsuch acknowledged that some president-appointed officials had challenged their dismissal, but noted that "those officials have generally sought remedies like backpay, not injunctive relief like reinstatement."

After being fired on February 7, Dellinger filed a federal lawsuit against the Trump administration in Washington, D.C.

Dellinger said: "I am glad to be able to continue my work as an independent government watchdog and whistleblower advocate," Dellinger said in a statement after Friday's proceedings. "I am grateful to the judges and justices who have concluded that I should be allowed to remain on the job while the courts decide whether my office can retain a measure of independence from direct partisan and political control."

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