Roger Rogoff didn't even make it through his first hour. Sworn in last week as the top federal prosecutor for the Western District of Washington, he was informed shortly after that President Trump had removed him from the post. Now he's suing to get it back.

Rogoff — a former judge who's also held roles as both a state and federal prosecutor — wasn't a political pick. He was unanimously selected by a panel of federal judges under existing law, filling a Seattle-based U.S. attorney seat that had sat empty for months.

His lawsuit, filed Tuesday, names President Trump, acting Attorney General Todd Blanche, and the Justice Department as defendants. Rogoff is asking a federal judge to rule the firing unlawful and reinstate him until a permanent replacement clears the standard process: nomination by the president, followed by Senate confirmation.

Both Sides Are Digging In

The Justice Department isn't backing down. A spokesperson said the district court skipped proper protocol by not looping DOJ in before selecting Rogoff, calling the firing "wholly within the President's authority."

Blanche made the administration's position public on X, writing that district court judges can appoint temporary U.S. attorneys — but the president can just as easily fire them. He argued the judges who picked Rogoff bypassed the usual step of consulting the administration to confirm the nominee was someone the administration could work with.

Rogoff's legal team sees it differently. They argue the firing broke federal law — specifically the statute allowing district courts to fill a U.S. attorney vacancy when an appointment lapses — and that it violated the Constitution's Appointments Clause. His attorney, Jason A. Rittereiser, wrote in the filing that the president is effectively trying to override Congress's own constitutional authority by asserting the power to fire any judge-appointed U.S. attorney who lacks his personal sign-off.

How The Process Is Supposed To Work

Normally, U.S. attorneys get nominated by the president and confirmed by the Senate. When that process stalls, the attorney general can name a temporary appointee — but only for up to 120 days. If the Senate still hasn't confirmed anyone by the time that window closes, authority shifts to the district's federal judges, who can appoint someone themselves. That's exactly the path that put Rogoff in the job.

Rogoff isn't the first person caught in this fight — just the first to actually sue over it. The pattern's been building for a while. Earlier this year, Lindsey Halligan, a Trump ally serving as acting U.S. attorney in Virginia, was pushed out after a judge ruled her appointment unlawful. Judges then unanimously tapped veteran litigator James Hundley to take her place — only for the Justice Department to fire him within hours of his swearing-in.

A similar sequence played out in the Northern District of New York. Donald Kinsella was appointed after Trump loyalist John Sarcone III was ruled to be serving unlawfully — and Kinsella, too, was fired by the administration in February.

After those firings, Blanche — then serving as deputy attorney general — maintained that the president retains ultimate authority over U.S. attorney appointments, regardless of who the judges select.

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