A federal judge has blocked Donald Trump’s firing of Roger Rogoff, ruling that the president cannot unilaterally remove the US attorney appointed by a district court to lead the federal prosecutor’s office in Seattle.
US District Judge Stanley Bastian ordered that Mr Rogoff be reinstated as US attorney for the Western District of Washington until the Senate confirms a replacement. Mr Trump nominated Simon Peter Serrano for the role last month.
Mr Rogoff was appointed by federal district judges in the region on 15 July and took the oath of office. The president dismissed him less than an hour later.
Delivering his decision from the bench after a hearing, Judge Bastian said: “The answer to the question the court is faced with is no. The president cannot unilaterally fire a United States attorney appointed by the district court.”
The judge said Mr Rogoff remained “the rightful holder of that office”. He also ruled that Charles Neil Floyd, who had been running the office, was not the US attorney and that authority granted to him to carry out the role’s responsibilities was improper.
The Justice Department said it intended to appeal and would immediately seek to pause the ruling.
Judge Bastian’s order prevents the Trump administration from putting Mr Rogoff’s dismissal into effect until the post is filled by a Senate-confirmed candidate. It also bars the administration from denying him the benefits or resources attached to the position, obstructing him from carrying out his duties or treating anyone else as US attorney.
“Allowing the president to fire a U.S. attorney appointed by the district court would upend the framework created by the Constitution and the statutes, which together balance the president’s right to appoint and the Senate’s right to confirm,” Judge Bastian said.
He added that permitting such a dismissal would remove the incentive to nominate a candidate capable of winning Senate confirmation, undermining the expectation that the executive and legislative branches should work together.
The Seattle office has not had a Senate-confirmed leader since mid-2023. After Mr Trump entered the White House, he dismissed Tessa Gorman, who had been serving temporarily after district court judges appointed her to the position in May 2024.
Mr Floyd began leading the office as interim US attorney in October. His appointment was subject to a 120-day limit, which expired in February, after which he became first assistant US attorney while saying he would continue to run the office.
With no presidential nominee in place, the district judges used powers under federal law governing vacancies among US attorneys to appoint Mr Rogoff. The law allows the attorney general to appoint an interim prosecutor for 120 days, after which the district court can extend that tenure or appoint its own US attorney until the Senate confirms a replacement.
Mr Rogoff brought the legal challenge after his dismissal, arguing that the administration’s actions would allow the executive branch to evade the Senate’s advice-and-consent role indefinitely.
Mr Trump has also sought to install preferred candidates for US attorney in Nevada, New York, Virginia and New Jersey. Federal courts have found appointments unlawful in those cases, some of which involved a different appointment mechanism. Mr Rogoff appears to be the first ousted prosecutor to challenge his dismissal in court.
