Overview
- Roger Rogoff filed a federal lawsuit in Seattle after President Trump removed him less than an hour after he was sworn in by district judges, and the complaint asks the court to declare the firing unlawful and restore him until a Senate‑confirmed successor serves.
- The suit rests on a federal vacancy statute that lets district judges appoint U.S. attorneys when an interim executive appointment lapses and on the Constitution’s Appointments Clause which Rogoff’s lawyers say Congress intended to protect.
- The Justice Department and the White House say the president has authority to remove court-appointed U.S. attorneys and criticized the judges for not consulting DOJ, while the office in Seattle is being led day-to-day by First Assistant Charles Neil Floyd.
- Rogoff appears to be the first court-appointed U.S. attorney removed in this wave to sue, and the case joins earlier clashes in New Jersey, New York and Virginia that produced rulings affecting prosecutions and appointment practices.
- If a judge grants relief the decision could reshape how U.S. attorney vacancies are filled, affect ongoing cases in the district, and influence whether future court appointments can stand against executive removal.