H.R. 5505House115th Congress (2017-2019)In Committee

Special Counsel Independence and Integrity Act

AI-Generated Summary

Updated April 15, 2026 at 9:23 PM UTC

The Special Counsel Independence and Integrity Act would make it harder to fire a special counsel or similar independent DOJ official. It says only the Senate‑confirmed Attorney General (or the next senior, unrecused DOJ official) can remove them, and only for specific reasons such as misconduct or conflict of interest. The bill also gives the removed official a quick way to challenge the dismissal in court.

Key Provisions

Removal can be done only by the Attorney General (or the next senior, Senate‑confirmed DOJ official if the AG is recused).
A special counsel may be removed only for cause—misconduct, dereliction of duty, incapacity, conflict of interest, or other good cause.
The AG must give written notice of the removal reasons, and the removal becomes effective 10 days after that notice.
The affected official has 10 days to file a lawsuit claiming the removal violated the Act.
A three‑judge panel must hear the case and issue a decision within 14 days; any appeal goes directly to the Supreme Court.
If a court finds the removal unlawful, the removal is halted and the official may stay in office while the case proceeds; all staff, documents, and materials must be preserved, and no replacement can be named during the challenge.
The rules apply to special counsels appointed on or after Jan. 1, 2017.

Legislative Activity

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2 earlier actions

HouseFloor Latest Action

ASSUMING FIRST SPONSORSHIP - Mr. Lance asked unanimous consent that he may hereafter be considered as the first sponsor of H.R. 5505, a bill originally introduced by Representative Dent of Pennsylvania, for the purpose of adding cosponsors and requesting reprintings under clause 7 of rule XII. Agreed to without objection.

May 15, 2018 • 7:12 PM

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HouseIntro Referral

Introduced in House

April 13, 2018

HouseIntro Referral

Referred to the House Committee on the Judiciary.

Judiciary Committee

April 13, 2018

HouseFloor

May 15, 2018 • 7:12 PM

Floor Debate

1 member

What members said about H.R. 5505 on the floor

1 Republican

Rep. Leonard LanceR-NJ-7 · May 15, 2018

Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that I may hereafter be considered to be the primary sponsor of H.R. 5505, a bill originally introduced by Representative Dent of Pennsylvania, for the purposes…

Bill Text

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Introduced in HouseIssued April 13, 2018

115th CONGRESS

2d Session

H. R. 5505

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

April 13, 2018

Mr. Dent (for himself and Mr. Welch) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary

A BILL

To ensure independent investigations and judicial review of the removal of a special counsel, and for other purposes.

Short title

This Act may be cited as the Special Counsel Independence and Integrity Act.

Limitation on removal of special counsel

(a)

In general

A special counsel appointed by the Attorney General, or any other official appointed by the Attorney General who exercises a similar degree of independence from the normal Department of Justice chain of command, may be removed from office only by the personal action of an Attorney General who has been confirmed by the Senate, or, if the Attorney General is recused from the matter, the most senior Department of Justice official who has been confirmed by the Senate and is not recused from the matter.

(b)

Removal for cause

A special counsel or other appointed official described in subsection (a) may be removed only for misconduct, dereliction of duty, incapacity, conflict of interest, or other good cause, including violation of policies of the Department of Justice.

(c)

Notice of removal

(1)

In general

The Attorney General or other Department of Justice official described in subsection (a), as the case may be, shall provide written notice to the special counsel or other appointed official described in subsection (a) of the specific reason or reasons for the removal.

(2)

Effective date of removal

Except as provided in subsection (e), removal under this section shall become effective on the date that is 10 days after the date on which the written notice was provided under paragraph (1).

(d)

Timing

Not later than 10 days after the date on which written notice was provided under subsection (c)(1), the special counsel or other appointed official described in subsection (a), as the case may be, may file an action challenging the removal in accordance with subsection (e).

(e)

Review

(1)

In general

An individual that received written notice under subsection (c)(1) may file an action in accordance with paragraph (2) that the removal was in violation of this Act.

(2)

Requirements

Any action filed under this subsection shall be heard and determined by a court of 3 judges not later than 14 days after the date on which the action is filed in accordance with the provisions of section 2284 of title 28, United States Code, and any appeal shall lie to the Supreme Court.

(3)

Relief

If a court determines that the removal of the individual who filed an action under this subsection violates this Act, the removal shall not take effect. The court may also provide other appropriate relief.

(4)

Status during proceedings

(A)

In general

At the request of the individual who filed an action under this subsection, the court shall determine whether the individual shall remain in office during the pendency of the action described in paragraph (2).

(B)

Preservation of materials

During the pendency of an action filed under this subsection, the staff, documents, and materials of the special counsel or other appointed official described in subsection (a) shall be preserved.

(C)

Limitation

During the pendency of an action filed under this subsection, a replacement for the special counsel or other appointed official described in subsection (a) who is challenging the removal shall not be designated.

(f)

Effective date

This Act shall apply to any special counsel or other appointed official described in subsection (a) appointed on or after January 1, 2017.

(g)

Severability

If any provision of this Act or the application of such provision to any person or circumstance is held to be invalid or unconstitutional, the remainder of this Act and the application of the provisions of this Act to any person or circumstance shall remain and shall not be affected thereby.