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Washington — The former U.S. attorney in Seattle who was fired from his post soon after federal judges in the area installed him in the role has filed a lawsuit against the Trump administration, arguing that his removal was unlawful.
Roger Rogoff is asking the federal district court in Seattle to void his firing last week by President Trump and issue an order declaring that he remains the U.S. attorney for the Western District of Washington until the president nominates and the Senate confirms a replacement.
In his lawsuit, Rogoff argues that his removal violates a federal statute governing U.S. attorney vacancies and the Constitution’s Appointments Clause. His lawyers warned that if not blocked by the court, the Trump administration’s “actions will permit the Executive Branch to evade the Senate’s advice-and-consent role indefinitely.”
“Defendants’ attempt to fire [Rogoff] cannot stand,” his lawyers said.
The judges on the U.S. district court for the Western District of Washington announced last week that they had appointed Rogoff as U.S. attorney for the region. Under federal law, the attorney general can name an interim U.S. attorney, who can serve for a 120-day term. Once that clock expires, the district court can either agree to extend that prosecutor’s tenure or appoint its own U.S. attorney until the Senate confirms a replacement.
But less than an hour after Rogoff was selected U.S. attorney by the judges, he received an email from the Executive Office of the President informing him that he had been removed. Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche, who is also named as a defendant in the lawsuit, announced that Mr. Trump had fired Rogoff last Wednesday and accused the district judges of failing to consult with the administration before making their pick.
“The President’s actions violate the law, and they ignore the protections of the Constitution of the United States. His removal of me, like his removal of other court-appointed U.S. Attorneys across the country, is illegal and cannot stand,” Rogoff said in a statement.
The Western District of Washington has not had a Senate-confirmed U.S. attorney in place since mid-2023. After Mr. Trump began his second term, he fired Tessa Gorman from the post. She had been appointed by the district judges in the area in May 2024. The U.S. Attorney’s Office in Seattle is currently led by Charles Neil Floyd, the first assistant U.S. attorney. Mr. Trump has not announced a nominee for U.S. attorney.
Rogoff appears to be the first ousted U.S. attorney to challenge his firing by the president. The Trump administration has in several other areas terminated prosecutors who were put in place by judges there, including in Virginia, New Jersey, New York and Nevada.