US judge declares Trump's firing of watchdog agency head illegal

WASHINGTON, March 1 (Reuters) - A U.S. judge on Saturday declared President Donald Trump's firing of the head of a federal watchdog agency illegal in an early test of the scope of presidential power likely to be decided at the U.S. Supreme Court.

U.S. District Judge Amy Berman Jackson in Washington had previously ruled Hampton Dellinger, the head of the Office of Special Counsel who is responsible for protecting whistleblowers, could remain in his post pending a ruling.

Berman said in her ruling Saturday that upholding Trump's ability to fire Dellinger would give him "a constitutional license to bully officials in the executive branch into doing his will."