Roger Rogoff’s tenure as federal prosecutor in Washington lasted exactly one hour. As he waited for his first staff meeting, he received a jarring email informing him he’d been fired by President Trump. The extraordinary episode—coming just moments after Rogoff’s swearing-in—opened a new legal front over the boundaries of presidential power versus the courts, turning a senior prosecutor appointment into an unprecedented political battleground.
1+The drama began yesterday morning at the federal courthouse in Seattle, when Roger Rogoff, a former state supreme court justice and veteran prosecutor, was sworn in as U.S. Attorney for Western Washington after winning unanimous support from district judges. But shortly afterward, as he waited for a staff meeting at the prosecutor’s office, Rogoff discovered he’d been fired via an email sent by the Trump administration.
Todd Blanche, acting attorney general, laid out the administration’s position in a post on X: “District court judges can appoint a temporary U.S. Attorney, and POTUS can fire them. 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.”
1+Rogoff took office after a 120-day term served by Charles Neal Floyd as interim prosecutor—a period that ended in February. His immediate removal marks an escalation in the battle between the White House and the district court system, with each side claiming a different legal interpretation regarding interim appointments of senior Justice Department officials. For now, the episode is seen as another chapter in the growing tension between the Trump administration and legal institutions in regions considered centers of resistance to his policies.