The Trump administration fired a Seattle-based federal prosecutor less than an hour after he was appointed by a panel of district judges, escalating a legal and political battle over who controls U.S. attorney appointments. Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche announced the dismissal on social media Wednesday, writing that President Donald Trump had removed Roger Rogoff from the position.
Rogoff, 57, a former King County Superior Court judge and longtime prosecutor, was sworn in as U.S. attorney for the Western District of Washington before 8 a.m. local time at the federal courthouse in downtown Seattle. He then went to the U.S. Attorney's Office to meet with Charles Neil Floyd, the Trump administration's preferred choice for the job, whose 120-day interim term expired in February. While waiting in the lobby, Rogoff received an email notifying him that Trump had removed him from office.
Blanche, who was testifying before the Senate in his confirmation hearing at the time, posted on X that the district court judges had abandoned the time-honored process of consultation with the administration. He stated that Rogoff had been fired by the president. The dismissal came after all 17 active and senior federal judges in the district appointed Rogoff to the vacancy. The judges, appointed by five presidents — 10 by Democrats and seven by Republicans — had opened an application process after the administration did not send Floyd's nomination to the Senate and instead kept him in place as first assistant U.S. attorney while leaving the top job vacant.
U.S. attorneys serve as the Justice Department's chief federal prosecutors in each district and are normally nominated by the president and confirmed by the Senate. Federal law allows the attorney general to name an interim U.S. attorney for 120 days. If that period expires without a confirmed nominee, district judges may appoint someone to serve until the vacancy is filled. The Trump administration has resorted to using acting titles and other personnel moves to keep its prosecutors in place due to what it describes as obstruction by Democrats in the narrowly held Senate. Courts have pushed back in several Democrat-heavy districts, including Seattle and New Jersey, issuing legal challenges to the Justice Department and White House authority.
Rogoff told The New York Times that he did not think the situation was the way to run the Department of Justice, adding that when there is a made-up way of putting people in these positions, the process breaks down. Senator Patty Murray, a Democrat from Washington, opposed Floyd for the U.S. attorney job and criticized Rogoff's quick firing. She said in a statement that Rogoff had demonstrated an outstanding commitment to public service throughout his career and was appointed legally by the federal judges in the Western District of Washington. Murray accused the administration of not wanting to deal with advice and consent and instead wanting to install cronies to carry out a corrupt political agenda.
Trump administration officials have long argued that the Senate's advice and consent role does not grant Democrats the ability to block the president's agenda and nominees. Rogoff has retained an employment law firm and is considering a legal challenge to his firing. The Seattle clash follows similar disputes elsewhere. In New Jersey, Alina Habba resigned as the top federal prosecutor after an appeals court said she had been serving unlawfully. In Virginia, Lindsey Halligan left an acting U.S. attorney post after a judge found her appointment unlawful and dismissed indictments she had brought against New York Attorney General Letitia James and former FBI Director James Comey. The administration has also fired court-appointed U.S. attorneys in other districts.
Rogoff, who spent 20 years as a state prosecutor and six as a federal prosecutor before becoming a state judge, said he knew the administration might fire him immediately. Despite this, he said he had no qualms about the potential conflict because being U.S. attorney is the best job there is. He expressed pride in his career and said the fact that the judges of the district believed he was the right person for the work was humbling and amazing.