President Trump fired the new U.S. attorney in Seattle less than an hour after he was sworn in because federal judges appointed the top prosecutor without the White House’s consent, acting Attorney General Todd Blanche said.
Mr. Blanche said Roger Rogoff, a veteran federal judge and prosecutor, was removed from his post in the Western District of Washington after the judges tried to circumvent the chain of command.
“District court judges can appoint a temporary U.S. Attorney, and POTUS can fire them,” Mr. Blanche posted Wednesday on X. “WDWA judges abandoned the time-honored process of consultation with the administration so that the selected U.S. Attorney is qualified to serve in the administration. Roger Rogoff has been fired by the President.”
The judges intended to have Mr. Rogoff replace First Assistant U.S. Attorney Charles Neil Floyd, who had been leading the federal office as interim U.S. attorney since October.
But because the Senate did not vote to confirm Mr. Floyd, the interim prosecutor had to vacate his post in February after 120 days.
Mr. Rogoff told The Guardian that he went to the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Seattle to meet with Mr. Floyd but received an email in the lobby informing him he had been fired. He said he is exploring options to sue over his dismissal.
Sen. Patty Murray chastised the president for firing the “eminently qualified” Mr. Rogoff and instead wanting to “install cronies to carry out a corrupt political agenda.”
“He should have never been fired, but the president wants to appoint an out-of-touch extremist who will put Trump over the rule of law,” the Washington Democrat said in a statement.
“The people of Washington state deserve someone in this role who will enforce the law fairly and responsibly — not some Trump administration sock puppet,” she added.
Mr. Rogoff’s firing is similar to that of Donald Kinsella, whom federal judges appointed in February to be the U.S. attorney in the Northern District of New York before Mr. Blanche fired him less than a day later.
The Department of Justice then resorted to naming Mr. Trump’s pick for U.S. attorney in Albany, John Sacrone, as first assistant U.S. attorney.
It’s a trend seen in other Democrat-heavy jurisdictions, with interim U.S. attorneys becoming first assistant U.S. attorneys after their confirmation windows close. Bilal Essayli in the Central District of California and Sigal Chattah in the District of Nevada have taken on the first assistant role, for example.
Federal appellate courts have questioned whether letting these first assistant U.S. Attorneys lead their offices is legal.
The 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in May said Mr. Trump may be disregarding the checks-and-balances system instituted by the founding fathers to appoint de facto U.S. attorneys, but ultimately reserved its decision in the matter.
The Justice Department has accused states with two Democratic senators of abusing the blue slip process as a form of political protest against the Trump administration.
The century-old practice allows home-state senators to sign off on a president’s U.S. attorney picks before they can be approved by the Senate Judiciary Committee.
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