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Departments & agencies

Office of Special Counsel

OSC Independent agenciesFor-cause removal
At a glance
Type
Independent agencies
Removal of leadership
Removable only for cause
Appointed by
Appointed by the President, confirmed by the Senate
Structure
Single Special Counsel
Term
5-year term
Funding
Annual appropriations
Independence
Independent
For-cause protection (5 U.S.C. 1211(b)) is contested. In Bessent v. Dellinger (2025), the Trump administration's White House Personnel Office removed Special Counsel Hampton Dellinger on Feb. 7, 2025 without citing cause. The district court ordered him reinstated; the Supreme Court declined to intervene at the TRO stage (Feb. 21, 2025); the D.C. Circuit then stayed the reinstatement order pending appeal (Mar. 5, 2025), and Dellinger dropped the suit (Mar. 6, 2025), leaving the protection's constitutionality unresolved.
What it does

The Office of Special Counsel is an independent federal investigative and prosecutorial agency that protects federal employees and applicants from prohibited personnel practices, especially retaliation against whistleblowers. It provides a safe channel for disclosing government waste, fraud, and abuse, and it enforces the Hatch Act (limits on partisan political activity by federal workers) and the reemployment rights of returning service members under USERRA. It can seek corrective and disciplinary action before the Merit Systems Protection Board.

EthicsJusticeLaborElections
How it fits
U.S. ConstitutionCivil Service Reform Act of 1978 (OSC made an independent agency by the Whistleblower Protection Act of 1989) (1978)OSCRules & actions

Created by Congress under the Civil Service Reform Act of 1978 (OSC made an independent agency by the Whistleblower Protection Act of 1989) (Pub. L. 95-454; Pub. L. 101-12; codified at 5 U.S.C. ch. 12, subch. II (5 U.S.C. 1211 et seq.)), it acts within the authority that statute grants. Its actions are subject to judicial review and to congressional oversight and funding.

Recent actions

Agency Information Collection; Request for Public CommentJanuary 22, 2026
Special Counsel Office
Information Collection Request; Request for CommentSeptember 23, 2025
Special Counsel Office
Notice for Public Comment: Filing of Complaints and Disclosures With the Office of Special CounselSeptember 12, 2025
Special Counsel Office
Senior Executive Service Performance Review BoardJuly 21, 2025
Special Counsel Office
Information Collection Request; Request for CommentJune 25, 2025
Special Counsel Office
Information Collection Activities; Submission for OMB Review; Comment RequestJune 16, 2025
Special Counsel Office
Information Collection Activities; Submission for OMB Review; Comment RequestJune 16, 2025
Special Counsel Office
Correction to Statutory CitationApril 30, 2025
Special Counsel Office
View all actions on the Federal Register