Trump immediately fires the new court-appointed top prosecutor in Seattle

SEATTLE — President Donald Trump fired Seattle’s new U.S. attorney on Wednesday less than an hour after federal judges unanimously appointed the district’s top prosecutor, highlighting tensions between the courts and the president over powerful positions.

Roger Rogoff, a former judge and veteran federal prosecutor, was sworn in as U.S. attorney just before 8 a.m. at the U.S. Courthouse in downtown Seattle. In a phone interview, he said he then went to the U.S. Attorney’s Office and asked to meet with Charles Neil Floyd, whose 120-day interim term expired in February.

While waiting in the lobby, Rogoff said, he received an email from the Trump administration informing him of his firing. He said he is consulting with other lawyers about filing a lawsuit over his firing.

Presidents typically appoint US Attorneys, who are the top federal prosecutor in each jurisdiction. The positions require Senate confirmation, except for temporary appointments. When temporary appointments expire before a nominee is confirmed, judges in the judicial district may appoint a U.S. attorney.

But under Trump, the Justice Department has sought to leave unconfirmed prosecutors in place indefinitely, often through new personal maneuvers.

“District Court judges can appoint an interim US Attorney, and the President of the United States can remove him,” Acting US Attorney Todd Blanche said in a social media post on Wednesday. He added that the judges who appointed Rogoff “abandoned the time-honored process of consulting with the administration so that the US attorney selected could be qualified to serve in the administration.”

Trump appointed Floyd, who previously worked as an immigration judge, as interim US attorney last October but did not submit his nomination to the Senate. When Floyd’s term as interim U.S. attorney ended, Trump simply changed his title, a tactic the administration has also tried in other federal jurisdictions: it named him first assistant U.S. attorney, leaving the top position empty.

In May, a US Court of Appeals panel expressed doubts about the legality of the maneuver. Federal judges in the city decided to accept applications for the position, and appointed a bipartisan commission to review the applications.

On Wednesday morning, the court — which includes 17 serving and senior judges appointed by five presidents — unanimously ordered Rogoff appointed U.S. attorney for Western Washington.

Patty Murray, a Democratic senator in Washington who opposed Floyd to serve as US attorney general, criticized Rogoff’s quick dismissal.

“Throughout his career, he has demonstrated an outstanding commitment to public service and was lawfully appointed by federal judges to the Western District of Washington,” the senator said in a written statement. “This administration doesn’t want to deal with advice and consent — they just want to appoint friends to implement a corrupt political agenda.”

In December, Alina Habari was appointed New Jersey’s top federal prosecutor, after an appeals court said she was serving in the position illegally.

Lindsey Halligan, who filed indictments against two of Trump’s opponents, left her position as acting US attorney in Virginia after a judge concluded that her appointment was illegal and that her indictments against James and former FBI Director James Comey should be dismissed.

The judges there named James Hundley, who had been handling criminal and civil cases for more than 30 years, but the department fired him. It also fired a court-appointed U.S. attorney in upstate New York.

Rogoff, who spent 20 years as a prosecutor and six as a federal prosecutor before becoming a state judge, said he knew the administration could fire him on the spot. But he said he had no concerns about the potential conflict he was getting into. He said working as a U.S. attorney is the “best job ever” for a prosecutor.

“I’m really proud of my career,” Rogoff said. “The fact that the judges of this district — whom I have spent most of my career standing before, prosecuting cases against, or working with — believe I am the right person to do this work is truly humbling and amazing.”