US supreme court temporarily blocks firing of head of federal whistleblower protection office

Trump administration is seeking to oust Hampton Dellinger, head of the office of special counsel

The US supreme court on Friday temporarily kept on the job the head of the federal agency that protects government whistleblowers, in its first word on the many legal fights over the agenda of Donald Trump's second presidency.

The justices said in an unsigned order that Hampton Dellinger, head of the office of special counsel, could remain in his job at least until Wednesday. That's when a lower-court order temporarily protecting him expires.