A federal judge has ordered President Donald Trump’s administration to restore Roger Rogoff as the top federal prosecutor in western Washington, ruling on October 1 that the president could not unilaterally fire a U.S. attorney appointed by federal judges. Trump dismissed Rogoff less than an hour after he took the oath on July 15.
The ruling puts Rogoff back in charge of the U.S. attorney’s office while the legal fight continues. Judge Stanley Bastian barred the administration from treating anyone else—including Charles Neil Floyd, who had been leading the office—as U.S. attorney, or from blocking Rogoff’s access to the job’s resources and duties. The order lasts until a Senate-confirmed replacement takes office.
The dispute grew out of a prolonged vacancy: the office had not had a Senate-confirmed U.S. attorney since 2023. After an interim prosecutor’s statutory 120-day term expired, Floyd continued as the office’s first assistant. In July, the district’s 17 active and senior judges unanimously appointed Rogoff under a federal law allowing district judges to fill a U.S. attorney vacancy when no Senate-confirmed nominee is in place.
Bastian said the law authorizes that appointment “until the vacancy is filled”; it does not give the president power to end it by firing the appointee. The decision tests a consequential question about the balance between presidential authority, the courts’ statutory appointment role and the Senate’s confirmation power. U.S. attorneys oversee federal prosecutions and represent the government in civil cases.
This is the first known lawsuit by a court-appointed U.S. attorney fired by the administration to directly challenge the removal. The Justice Department says it will seek an immediate stay and appeal. Bastian’s order is preliminary, so it does not end the case or settle the issue nationwide. For now, Rogoff is reinstated as the government’s lead prosecutor in the district while the administration contests the ruling.