Trump Moves in Minutes to Oust Liberal Court Pick for Seattle U.S. Attorney

President Donald Trump wasted little time making his position clear after federal judges in Seattle appointed Roger Rogoff to serve as U.S. attorney for the Western District of Washington. Less than an hour after Rogoff took the oath of office, the Trump administration removed him, sending a powerful message that it would not accept what it viewed as an attempt to install a federal prosecutor without the administration’s approval.

The extraordinary sequence unfolded in Seattle after a panel of federal judges selected Rogoff to fill a vacancy that had remained open for months. Within minutes of his appointment, however, President Trump exercised what his administration argues is his authority to remove a court-appointed U.S. attorney, ending Rogoff’s tenure almost as quickly as it began.

How the Vacancy Developed

The dispute centered on the position of U.S. attorney for the Western District of Washington.

Normally, U.S. attorneys are nominated by the president and confirmed by the Senate. Federal law also allows the attorney general to appoint an interim U.S. attorney for up to 120 days. If that period expires without Senate confirmation, district judges may appoint someone to serve until the vacancy is filled.

The Trump administration had preferred Charles Neil Floyd for the position. Floyd had served as interim U.S. attorney during the statutory 120-day period, which expired in February. Rather than immediately sending Floyd’s nomination to the Senate, the administration kept him in the office as first assistant U.S. attorney while leaving the top position formally vacant.

That decision prompted the judges of the Western District of Washington to begin their own appointment process.

Who Appointed Roger Rogoff?

Roger Rogoff, a former King County Superior Court judge with two decades as a state prosecutor and six years as a federal prosecutor, was unanimously selected by the district’s federal judges.

According to reports, all 17 active and senior judges participated in the appointment process. The panel included judges appointed by five different presidents, with ten appointed by Democratic presidents and seven appointed by Republican presidents.

The judges opened a public application process after the administration declined to formally nominate Floyd to the Senate.

Rogoff was sworn in before 8 a.m. at the federal courthouse in downtown Seattle. He later walked to the U.S. attorney’s office intending to meet Floyd.

Instead, while waiting in the lobby, Rogoff received an email informing him that President Trump had removed him from office.

Blanche Explains the Administration’s Position

Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche wasted no time explaining why the administration acted.

“District court judges can appoint a temporary U.S. Attorney, and POTUS can fire them,” Blanche wrote.

He criticized the judges for bypassing what he described as the traditional relationship between the courts and the executive branch.

“WDWA judges abandoned the time-honored process of consultation with the administration so that the selected U.S. Attorney is qualified to serve in the administration,” Blanche said. “Roger Rogoff has been fired by the President.”

The Justice Department also stated that the district court “did not coordinate with D.O.J. on this selection,” reinforcing the administration’s view that the judges had acted independently rather than working with the executive branch.

Supporters of the administration argue the rapid dismissal demonstrated that Trump was unwilling to allow federal courts to effectively choose one of the nation’s chief federal prosecutors without presidential approval.

Rogoff Says He Expected It

Remarkably, Rogoff acknowledged that he knew this outcome was possible before accepting the appointment. He said he accepted the position anyway because serving as U.S. attorney was “the best job there is.”

After being dismissed, Rogoff criticized the administration’s personnel strategy. “I don’t think it’s the way to run the Department of Justice,” he told The New York Times.

“When you have this sort of made up way of putting people in these positions, the process breaks down.”

He argued that morale, credibility, and confidence in federal prosecutions could suffer under such arrangements.

Despite the dismissal, Rogoff said he was proud that the judges had selected him.

“I’m really proud of my career,” he said. “The fact that the judges of this district… believed that I was the right person to do this work is just really humbling and amazing.”

He has retained an employment law firm and is considering challenging his dismissal in court.

Political Reaction Quickly Follows

Washington Senator Patty Murray sharply criticized Trump’s decision.

She argued Rogoff had been legally appointed and accused the administration of trying to avoid the Senate confirmation process.

The Trump administration, however, has consistently argued that Senate obstruction has forced it to rely on acting appointments and alternative personnel arrangements to keep federal prosecutor offices functioning.

Administration officials have also maintained that the Senate’s advice-and-consent role should not become a permanent veto over presidential staffing decisions.

Can Trump Legally Fire a Court-Appointed U.S. Attorney?

Some believe the statutory language allowing judges to appoint a temporary U.S. attorney “until the vacancy is filled” could be interpreted as limiting the president’s ability to remove that appointee without cause.

University of Washington law professor Elizabeth G. Porter called that argument possible but cautioned that she believes it would be “a tough argument.”

The administration has already faced similar disputes involving appointments in New Jersey and Virginia, making the Seattle case another chapter in an expanding legal battle over who ultimately controls leadership of the nation’s U.S. attorney offices.

For supporters of President Trump, however, the rapid dismissal represented something much simpler: a president moving immediately to reassert executive authority after concluding that federal judges had attempted to install a prosecutor without the administration’s backing. Whether that authority ultimately survives judicial review may now be decided in the courts.