Judge Reinstates Seattle U.S. Attorney Trump Fired Within an Hour of His Swearing-In
U.S. District Judge Stanley Bastian ruled the president "cannot unilaterally fire" a prosecutor appointed by the district court, the first win for a judicially appointed U.S. attorney in the fight over control of federal prosecutor offices.
A federal judge in Seattle on Thursday restored Roger Rogoff as the top federal prosecutor for Western Washington, ruling that President Donald Trump had no power to fire a U.S. attorney whom the district's judges appointed less than an hour earlier.
U.S. District Judge Stanley Bastian, an appointee of former President Barack Obama, granted Rogoff a preliminary injunction and barred the administration from removing him until the Senate confirms a replacement. "Mr. Roger Rogoff is the United States attorney for the Western District of Washington and has been the rightful holder of that office since July 15, 2026, when he took the oath of office," Bastian wrote.
The dispute began in July. After Trump failed to win Senate confirmation for his own nominee, the 17 active and senior judges of the Western District of Washington used their statutory power to appoint Rogoff, a former King County Superior Court judge, as interim U.S. attorney. The administration fired him within an hour. Rogoff sued, becoming the first judicially appointed U.S. attorney to challenge his removal in court.
Bastian's opinion turned largely on the text of the law. Congress, he wrote, "did not give the power to fill this inferior office to the president alone," and the statute that lets district courts fill a vacancy "does not say 'until the president fires the person selected.'" The president, he concluded, "cannot unilaterally fire a United States attorney appointed by the district court."
The ruling is the first court victory for a judicially appointed prosecutor in a wider fight between the administration and federal judges over who controls U.S. attorney offices. The administration has removed other court-appointed prosecutors, including Alina Habba in New Jersey and Lindsey Halligan and James Hundley in Virginia.
The practical effect is that Rogoff keeps the job until the Senate confirms a replacement, so the question of who leads federal prosecutions in Western Washington will stay with the judges' pick while the appeal runs. The decision is a rebuke to an administration that tried to install its own choices after the Senate declined to act, and a vindication for the judges who made the appointment.
The Justice Department said it disagrees with the decision and will appeal. Any appeal would go to the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, and the administration could ask for the injunction to be put on hold while that case proceeds.
For now, Rogoff is back in charge of the office. The injunction applies only to his post, but the same dispute over appointment power has played out in other districts, so a ruling from a higher court could help settle whether judges or the president have the final word.
