Trump fires Seattle U.S. attorney after court appointment

President Trump fired Roger Rogoff as the top federal prosecutor in Seattle on Wednesday shortly after federal judges unanimously appointed him to the post, escalating a broader dispute between the administration and federal courts over who can fill vacant U.S. attorney positions.

Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche announced the firing on X, saying the judges of the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Washington had acted without the administration’s input.

“District court judges can appoint a temporary U.S. Attorney, and POTUS can fire them,” Blanche wrote. “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. Roger Rogoff has been fired by the President.”

The Guardian reported that Rogoff, a former judge and veteran state and federal prosecutor, was sworn in before 8 a.m. at the federal courthouse in downtown Seattle and was removed less than an hour later. Rogoff told the newspaper he went to the U.S. attorney’s office and asked to meet with Charles Neil Floyd, whose 120-day interim term in the position ended in February. While waiting in a lobby, Rogoff said, he received an email from the Trump administration informing him he had been removed. He said he is consulting lawyers about a possible lawsuit.

The Western District of Washington has not had a Senate-confirmed U.S. attorney since mid-2023, during the Biden administration. After Trump took office in January 2025, he fired Tessa Gorman, who had been serving temporarily before district judges appointed her to the role in May 2024. Trump has not announced a nominee to lead the Seattle office.

Under federal law, the attorney general may appoint an interim U.S. attorney for 120 days. After that period expires, district judges may extend that prosecutor’s tenure or appoint their own U.S. attorney until the Senate confirms a replacement.

Floyd, the first assistant U.S. attorney, currently leads the office. Trump tapped him as interim U.S. attorney in October, but his 120-day term ended in February. The Guardian reported that Trump never sent Floyd’s nomination to the Senate and later shifted his title to first assistant U.S. attorney while leaving the top post vacant. In May, a U.S. appeals court panel expressed skepticism that the maneuver was legal, according to The Guardian.

The court in Seattle said in January it would use its authority under the vacancy law to appoint a U.S. attorney. On Wednesday, the court issued an order naming Rogoff, citing his “deep ties” to the region and saying he had “devoted his career to serving its citizens” as a local and federal prosecutor, a King County Superior Court judge and director of the Washington State Office of Independent Investigation. The Guardian reported that the court comprised 17 active and senior judges appointed by five presidents and had appointed a bipartisan panel to review applications.

Sen. Patty Murray, a Washington Democrat, condemned the firing.

“Roger Rogoff is eminently qualified — throughout his career, he has demonstrated an outstanding commitment to public service, and he was appointed legally by the federal judges in the Western District of Washington,” Murray said. “He should have never been fired, but the president wants to appoint an out-of-touch extremist who will put Trump over the rule of law.”

Murray accused the administration of trying to bypass the Senate’s advice-and-consent role to “install cronies to carry out a corrupt political agenda.”

Similar disputes have unfolded in Virginia, New Jersey, New York and Nevada, where judges have appointed U.S. attorneys after interim terms expired and Trump has fired those court-appointed replacements. Federal judges have found several Trump administration acting U.S. attorney appointments unlawful. In New Jersey, at least one federal appeals court ruled against Trump and agreed that Alina Habba, his former personal lawyer, was serving unlawfully. In Virginia, a federal judge dismissed criminal charges against former FBI Director James Comey and New York Attorney General Letitia James after finding Lindsey Halligan’s appointment invalid. The Justice Department has appealed that decision.