Trump Loses Appeal of Temporary Stay for Special Counsel Dellinger

President Donald Trump lost his appeal of a stay granted by a judge, keeping Hampton Dellinger as head of the White House whistleblower office for another day.

Special Counsel of the U.S. Office of Special Counsel Hampton Dellinger poses for a portrait in an undated handout image. U.S. Office of Special Counsel/Handout via Reuters

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit refused on Feb. 12 to hear the Trump administration’s appeal of a court stay, allowing the head of the Office of Special Counsel (OSC), Hampton Dellinger, to remain in his position until Thursday at midnight. The order was intended to give a judge time to weigh whether President Donald Trump unlawfully fired Dellinger.

The court argued that the Trump administration failed to prove the stay granted an injunction, which would have made it appealable.