President’s quest for vast new powers will test the High Court

Trump wants the Supreme Court to let him fire officials despite the law. That’s unprecedented

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Columnists

February 21, 2025 - 2:38 PM

President Trump is asking the Supreme Court to allow him to fire anyone who works in the executive branch even when a law limits his power to do so. Photo by (Dreamstime/TNS)

Less than a month into Donald Trump’s second term, a case involving his extreme claims of presidential power has already made it to the Supreme Court. It raises a question of profound importance: Can the president fire anyone who works in the executive branch even when a law limits his power to do so?

To side with Trump and grant him that authority, the court would have to overrule long-standing precedents and adopt a radical theory of presidential power.

The case involves Hampton Dellinger, the head of the Office of Special Counsel, an independent agency responsible…

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