Fired 60 Minutes After Swearing In: This Seattle Prosecutor’s Lawsuit Just Blown Open Trump’s DOJ Power Grab

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(SeaPRwire) –

By: Gavin Thorne

This is not a petty personnel dispute. It is a deliberate, high-stakes test of how far the executive branch can erode judicial authority over federal prosecutor appointments. Roger Rogoff is the first court-appointed U.S. attorney ousted by the Trump administration to push back in court. His lawsuit will set a binding precedent that could reshape the autonomy of regional Justice Department offices for generations. No other recent case cuts so directly to the core of separation of powers in U.S. law enforcement.

The Western District of Washington has not had a Senate-confirmed U.S. attorney since 2023. Then-Attorney General Pam Bondi appointed Charles Neil Floyd to the post on an interim basis last year. Floyd’s 120-day term expired earlier this year, leaving a vacancy. Local federal judges announced plans to fill the gap, per federal statute. They unanimously selected Rogoff for the role, which he is set to hold until a Senate-confirmed nominee takes office. He was sworn in last Wednesday.

Less than one hour after the swearing-in ceremony, Rogoff received an official email from the Trump administration. The message stated President Donald Trump had formally ordered his termination. Rogoff filed suit Tuesday to challenge the dismissal. His complaint argues the firing is unconstitutional, and asks the court to void the termination order so he can resume his post. He noted multiple other court-appointed prosecutors have been ousted in similar fashion across the country.

Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche had openly foreshadowed the move long before Rogoff was appointed. After the court announced it had formed a merit selection panel to fill the vacancy, Blanche posted on X that any candidate the judges picked would not have presidential support. He added they would “suffer the same fate as others have when judges ignore Article II” of the Constitution. After Rogoff’s firing, Blanche posted again to confirm the president has full authority to remove court-appointed U.S. attorneys.

This is far from the first clash between the judiciary and the Trump administration over U.S. attorney appointments. In New Jersey, Trump’s former personal lawyer Alina Habba resigned from her U.S. attorney post in December after an appeals court ruled her appointment was unlawful. In Virginia, another Trump personal lawyer Lindsey Halligan was pushed out of her acting U.S. attorney role after a judge ruled her appointment was invalid. All indictments she brought against Letitia James and James Comey were dismissed as a result.

The DOJ is not fighting for constitutional principle here. It is fighting to stack every regional federal prosecution office with loyalists who will prioritize targeting the administration’s political enemies and shielding its allies. For decades, the process of appointing interim U.S. attorneys when Senate confirmation stalls was a low-drama, collaborative process. The Trump administration has turned it into a partisan weapon to seize full control of federal law enforcement.

If the courts rule in Rogoff’s favor, the Trump administration’s years-long campaign to seize full control of the federal prosecution apparatus will hit an irreversible legal wall.

Author bio: Gavin Thorne, investigative journalist tracking special interests and legislative affairs based in Washington, D.C.