WASHINGTON — Holding a job unlawfully is not a reason to be fired in the Trump administration.

Last month, a Montana judge ruled that the acting head of the Bureau of Land Management, which holds sway over millions of acres of federal land, should be removed from his position because he was performing his duties illegally. The Interior Department’s response? Tweak his title.

Since March, William Perry Pendley is the third high-ranking administration official that the courts have found likely to be working in violation of the Federal Vacancies Reform Act, a 1998 law governing how a president may appoint temporary officials. Such findings have been bolstered by the Government Accountability Office and other agencies.

In each case the administration has responded with defiance.

“We depend on an administration’s willingness to comply with the law, including judicial orders, findings of independent agencies, and congressional demands for information,” said Kathleen Clark, a government ethics […]