In a surprising turn of events, one of the government watchdogs that President Donald Trump has fired is now coming to Trump's defense - in court. 

The fired watchdog, according to Fox News, is Eric Soskin.

Soskin, the outlet reports, is "the former inspector general for the U.S. Department of Transportation."

He was actually first appointed to the position by Trump during the president's first administration, the 2016-2020 one. However, upon taking office for a second time, Trump, within the first four days, decided to fire Soskin. It appears, though, that there are no hard feelings.

Background

Trump, after taking office, rocked D.C. by firing a large number of inspector generals.

The Washington Examiner reported:

In a move the New York Times described as a “late-night purge,” Trump fired at least 18 of the 73 federal inspectors general, the officials responsible for reporting on waste and abuse at their respective agencies, on Friday.

The move led to a backlash from the political left and anti-Trumpers. They argued that Trump is just looking to install partisan hacks to do his bidding. Trump, however, has denied the claim.

Not only that, but the Examiner reported, "At least six of the inspectors general recently dismissed by President Donald Trump had a history of donating to Democratic political committees."

So, it might just be the case the Trump was actually removing the partisan hacks. Whatever the case may be, the situation is now playing out in the courts, as some have challenged Trump's order.

The latest

Fox News reports:

The move prompted a lawsuit from eight of the ousted watchdogs, who asked the presiding judge in the case, U.S. District Judge Ana Reyes, to declare their firings illegal and to restore their agency positions.

This is where things get a bit surprising. Soskin, one of the individuals whom Trump has fired, has now filed a brief with the court in support of Trump's termination of not only himself but his fellow inspector general colleagues.

Fox reports:

Even so, Soskin disagreed so strongly with their rationale that he not only declined to join their lawsuit, but also had lawyers file an amicus brief on his behalf supporting the administration's ability to terminate his role.

Among other things, Soskin and his lawyer argue, "Supreme Court precedent over the last five, ten years has almost all but rejected that idea that Congress can impose restrictions on the president's removal authority."

This has to be a big win for Trump, but, ultimately, it will be up to the courts to decide how this situation will be resolved.