The Justice Department's filing asks the conservative-majority court to lift a judge's court order temporarily reinstating Hampton Dellinger as the leader of the Office of Special Counsel.

Perlmutter had previously been a policy director at the Patent and Trademark Office, The Associated Press reported, and brought expertise in copyright and other areas of intellectual property.

The justices said in an unsigned order that Hampton Dellinger, head of the Office of Special Counsel, could remain in his job at least until Feb. 26. That’s when a lower-court order temporarily ...