ROME — Pope Francis has developed pneumonia in both lungs, the Vatican said Tuesday, after new tests showed a further complication in the condition of the 88-year-old pontiff that raised concerns about his ability to fight off the infection.

The Vatican said Francis’ respiratory infection also involves asthmatic bronchitis, which requires the use of cortisone antibiotic treatment. “Laboratory tests, chest X-ray, and the Holy Father’s clinical condition continue to present a complex picture,” the Vatican said.

Nevertheless the pope, who had the upper lobe of his right lung removed as a young man, is in good spirits and is grateful for the prayers for his recovery, Vatican spokesman Matteo Bruni said in an update.

Francis was admitted to Rome’s Gemelli hospital in “fair” condition on Friday after a weeklong bout of bronchitis worsened. On Monday, medical personnel determined that he was suffering from a polymicrobial respiratory tract infection, meaning a mix of viruses, bacteria and possibly other organisms had colonized in his respiratory tract.

“The follow-up chest CT scan which the Holy Father underwent this afternoon ... demonstrated the onset of bilateral pneumonia, which required additional drug therapy,” Bruni said.

Bronchitis can lead to pneumonia, which is a deeper and far more serious infection of the lungs’ air sacs. Pneumonia can develop in part of one lung or an entire lung or both lungs. It tends to be more serious when both lungs are affected because there’s no healthy lung tissue to compensate.

Treatment varies by severity but can include providing oxygen through a nasal tube or mask, intravenous fluids, and treatment of the underlying cause of the infection.

The Vatican has given no indication of how long the pope might remain hospitalized, only saying that the treatment of such a “complex clinical picture,” which has already required several changes in his drug regimen, would require an “adequate” stay.

Whistleblower agency: The Supreme Court should reject an emergency appeal from the Trump administration asking for quick action to allow the firing of the head of the federal agency that protects whistleblowers, lawyers for the embattled official told the justices Tuesday.

The legal fight over the administration’s move to oust Hampton Dellinger as the leader of the Office of Special Counsel is the first of an anticipated steady stream of pleas to the high court from lawyers for President Donald Trump and his administration seeking to block court orders that have slowed his second-term agenda.

After Dellinger sued to block his removal from office, a district judge in Washington, D.C., temporarily reinstated him in an order that expires Feb. 26.

The Justice Department argued before the justices that Trump has unbridled power to fire the heads of independent agencies. Dellinger has argued that the law that created the whistleblowers’ office says he can be fired only for problems with the performance of his job, none of which were cited in the email dismissing him.

But Tuesday, his lawyers said the justices don’t have to reach potentially weighty issues of presidential power at the moment. They should rely on standard legal rules that typically do not allow the appeal of a short-lived temporary restraining order, Dellinger’s lawyers wrote.

DOJ turmoil: A top supervisor in the federal prosecutors’ office in Washington said she was forced to resign following a dispute with her boss over a directive that she scrutinize the awarding of a government contract during the Biden administration, according to a letter reviewed by The Associated Press.

Denise Cheung, a longtime Justice Department official who led the office’s criminal division, wrote in a resignation letter that interim U.S. Attorney Ed Martin ordered her to seek a freeze on assets related to the contract and to issue grand jury subpoenas despite her believing there was an insufficient basis for doing so.

Cheung said Martin asked for her resignation after she resisted his demand to tell a bank not to release any funds from certain accounts because of a criminal investigation. Cheung said she “lacked the legal authority to issue such a letter” to the bank.

Cheung’s letter recapping her dispute with Martin did not describe the nature of the contract or which agency was involved. A spokesperson for the Justice Department said failing to follow orders “is not an act of heroism.”

It’s the latest departure from a Justice Department that has been rocked by firings, resignations and forced transfers since Trump’s inauguration in late January.