Seattle former federal prosecutor sues Trump over firing

A former federal prosecutor in Seattle has filed a lawsuit against President Donald Trump and his administration, seeking to overturn his dismissal and challenging the president's authority to remove a court-appointed U.S. attorney. Roger Rogoff, a former state judge, was unanimously appointed by federal judges to the post on July 15, only to be fired by the administration approximately one hour later. He filed the lawsuit on July 21 in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Washington.

The legal action centers on a conflict between presidential authority and congressional statute. Rogoff was appointed under a federal law, 28 U.S.C. § 546, which allows district court judges to appoint an interim U.S. attorney after a temporary 120-day appointment by the attorney general expires without a Senate-confirmed replacement. The vacancy in the Western District of Washington arose after the interim term of Charles Neil Floyd, who began as U.S. attorney in fall 2025, lapsed without a formal presidential nomination.

Rogoff's lawsuit argues that the president's attempt to fire him is unlawful and violates the Constitution's Appointments Clause, which grants Congress the power...