Federal judge restores Roger Rogoff as Seattle’s U.S. attorney
Wertynews.com – A federal judge has halted President Trump’s effort to remove Roger Rogoff as the chief federal prosecutor for the Western District of Washington, ruling that the president cannot independently dismiss a U.S. attorney selected by the district court.
U.S. District Judge Stanley Bastian announced the decision Thursday after a hearing on Rogoff’s request to return to office. The order keeps Rogoff in the position unless and until the Senate confirms a successor. Trump nominated Simon Peter Serrano last month to become the U.S. attorney in Seattle.
Bastian concluded that Rogoff has lawfully held the office since July 15, when judges in the district chose him for the vacancy and he took the required oath. Trump moved to fire Rogoff less than an hour after that swearing-in.
“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 ruling addresses an unusual legal dispute over who controls a U.S. attorney’s office when a Senate-confirmed leader is not in place. Bastian described the question as one that had not previously been decided by a court: whether a president may remove a prosecutor appointed by district judges under the federal vacancy process.
Order limits administration’s actions
Under Bastian’s oral order, the Trump administration may not enforce Rogoff’s dismissal before the office is filled by a nominee confirmed by the Senate. The administration also cannot claim to remove him from the job, withhold the resources or benefits attached to the position, or interfere with his ability to perform its duties.
The judge further directed the administration not to recognize another person as the U.S. attorney for the Western District of Washington while Rogoff remains in office.
“The court finds it is in the public interest that the law be followed and that Mr. Rogoff take the office to which he has already taken the oath of office.”
The Justice Department said it plans to appeal the decision and will seek an immediate pause of the ruling.
Bastian also rejected the administration’s designation of Charles Neil Floyd as the office’s top official. Floyd, the first assistant U.S. attorney who had been overseeing the Seattle office, was not the lawful U.S. attorney, the judge said. Authority for him to carry out that office’s functions had been granted improperly.
Trump signed an order last week directing Floyd to perform the functions and duties of the U.S. attorney’s office. Bastian’s decision prevents that arrangement from displacing Rogoff during the court-appointment period.
How the vacancy developed
The Seattle office has been without a Senate-confirmed U.S. attorney since the middle of 2023. After Trump took office, he removed Tessa Gorman, who had been serving as the office’s leading prosecutor. District judges had appointed Gorman in May 2024 after she had initially served in a temporary capacity.
Floyd began serving as interim U.S. attorney in October. That appointment was limited to 120 days and expired in February. He then returned to his role as first assistant U.S. attorney, the office’s second-ranking position, while continuing to lead its operations.
Federal law creates a sequence for filling a U.S. attorney vacancy. The attorney general may select an interim prosecutor for a period of up to 120 days. Once that period ends, the district court may extend the interim prosecutor’s service or name its own U.S. attorney, who remains in place until the Senate confirms a replacement.
Because Trump had not yet nominated a candidate for the Seattle position at the relevant time, the district judges used that authority to appoint Rogoff. The later nomination of Serrano does not itself put a permanent U.S. attorney in office; Senate confirmation is required.
Separation of powers at the center of the case
Bastian said the statutory process preserves the constitutional balance among the executive branch, the Senate and the courts. In his view, allowing the president to dismiss a court-appointed U.S. attorney would weaken the system Congress established for vacancies and reduce pressure on the executive branch to nominate a candidate capable of winning Senate approval.
“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.”
Rogoff sued after his removal, arguing that the dismissal was unlawful. His case warned that permitting the firing to stand would allow the executive branch to avoid the Senate’s advice-and-consent role for an unlimited period.
The outcome has implications beyond Seattle because the administration has sought to install preferred U.S. attorney candidates in other locations, including Nevada, New York, Virginia and New Jersey. For now, the Seattle ruling makes clear that a court-appointed U.S. attorney in the Western District of Washington cannot be replaced through a unilateral presidential action before a Senate-confirmed successor takes office.
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