Massachusetts Rep. Ayanna Pressley is leading House Democrats in a letter supporting the U.S. special counsel engaged in a battle with President Trump over his firings.

She and her colleagues said Hampton Dellinger, the special counsel, is one of the last independent watchdogs for federal employees in many areas of government after Mr. Trump fired a group of inspector generals.

The president fired Mr. Dellinger, but he’s challenging that removal, and a judge has let him keep serving while that case proceeds.

Ms. Pressley led more than 80 colleagues in telling Mr. Dellinger to hold firm.

“We urge you to continue fulfilling [the Office of Special Counsel’s] mission and ensure federal workers are protected from abuse,” the lawmakers said.

As special counsel, Mr. Dellinger polices adverse personnel actions against federal employees. He has challenged the firing of six probationary employees, part of thousands let go by the Trump administration, saying he wants to lead a full investigation. He prodded the Merit Systems Protection Board to put a 45-day pause on the firings.

Ms. Pressley and her colleagues asked Mr. Dellinger to expand his efforts beyond those six cases.

And they urged Mr. Dellinger to take action against “the agency officials who carried out the illegal scheme.”

Mr. Trump’s lawyers have asked the Supreme Court to intervene and kick Mr. Dellinger out of his job while he challenges his firing. The president’s team says the special counsel’s actions to block other presidential firings show he’s hindering the operations of the executive branch.

• Stephen Dinan can be reached at sdinan@washingtontimes.com.