Appeals court allows Trump administration to remove ethics watchdog Dellinger — for now

A federal appeals court on Wednesday allowed the Trump administration to remove a top federal ethics watchdog from his office while a lawsuit challenging his termination plays out.

The order permitting the removal of Hampton Dellinger as head of the Office of Special Counsel came four days after a federal district court judge ruled that President Donald Trump’s attempt to boot Dellinger was “unlawful, and as the special counsel opposes the terminations of probationary employees throughout the government by the Trump administration.