Roger Rogoff lasted barely an hour as the top federal prosecutor for Western Washington before President Donald Trump fired him last week. Now the former judge is in court, claiming the termination was illegal and demanding reinstatement until a permanent replacement goes through the normal Senate confirmation process.
Rogoff, a career prosecutor and state and federal judge, was unanimously appointed by a panel of federal judges to fill the vacant Seattle-based U.S. attorney position after months with no permanent leader. Under federal law, when a presidential nominee fails to win Senate confirmation and a vacancy persists, district court judges can select a temporary U.S. attorney to keep the office functioning.
His lawsuit names Trump, acting Attorney General Todd Blanche, and the Justice Department as defendants. Rogoff's attorneys argue the firing violated both federal statute and the Constitution's Appointments Clause, which reserves specific appointment powers to Congress. His legal team contends the administration tried to "negate Congress's exercise of its constitutionally enumerated power" by threatening to fire any judge-appointed attorney who lacks White House endorsement.
The Justice Department's response was swift and defiant. A spokesperson said the district court erred by not consulting with DOJ before making its selection, and that the president has inherent authority to remove U.S. attorneys. Blanche doubled down on X, writing that "POTUS can fire them" and accusing the federal judges of abandoning "the time-honored process of consultation with the administration."
Rogoff's firing is the latest clash over control of federal prosecutorial offices. A Virginia panel appointed James Hundley to replace Trump loyalist Lindsey Halligan, who had left after a judge ruled her unlawful appointment. Hundley lasted even shorter than Rogoff, fired in February just hours after being sworn in. The same month, the Justice Department removed Donald Kinsella, whom judges had appointed to fill a vacancy in upstate New York after another Trump ally was found to be unlawfully serving.
These conflicts stem from the Trump administration's strategy of indefinitely keeping unconfirmed prosecutors in place. During the first term, Blanche and other administration officials asserted the president's unilateral power to appoint U.S. attorneys, circumventing the judicial appointment mechanism Congress wrote into law for situations exactly like these prolonged vacancies.
Rogoff is the first judge-appointed U.S. attorney to sue after being terminated. His case will test whether the Trump administration's aggressive assertion of executive power can override statutory protections that Congress designed to ensure prosecutorial continuity when the normal nomination and confirmation pathway stalls.
Author Sarah Mitchell: "This isn't about one fired prosecutor in Seattle, it's about whether Trump can unilaterally demolish the legal safeguard Congress created for vacant U.S. attorney slots."
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