The Trump administration told a federal appeals court Friday that the president was within his rights when he fired Roger Rogoff, the U.S. attorney for the Western District of Washington. Rogoff was fired less than an hour after he was sworn in this past summer 1. A three-judge panel of the Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals heard the case. It did not say when it will rule 1.
How the fight started
The last Senate-confirmed U.S. attorney for the Seattle-area district resigned in 2023. In January, the federal court there said it would appoint someone to fill the job unless the administration did so by February 1.
On July 15, the court appointed Rogoff and swore him in the same day. Less than an hour later, a White House personnel official emailed him that President Trump had ordered his removal 1. Rogoff sued, and Reuters reported he was the first court-appointed U.S. attorney to challenge a Trump firing 2.
U.S. District Judge Stanley Bastian ordered Rogoff reinstated this month. He wrote that it was “in the public interest that the law be followed and Mr. Rogoff take the office to which he has already taken the oath of office.” 1 Days later, the Ninth Circuit paused that order while it considers the appeal 12.
What each side argued
Justice Department attorney Mark Freeman said the case is about a simple question. He said the lower court's answer is “impossible to reconcile with Supreme Court jurisprudence about the president’s removal authority and control over executive power.” 1
We’re here this morning on a basic question, which is whether a court-appointed United States attorney, like any other United States attorney, can be removed by the president
The case turns on two parts of the U.S. Code. Section 541(c) says U.S. attorneys are “subject to removal by the president.” The administration says that has no limits 1. Rogoff says it covers only attorneys the president appoints. He says Section 546, which covers court appointees, lets him serve until a Senate-confirmed replacement takes over 1.
Rogoff's lawyer, Donald Verrilli, said the court-appointment rule is a stopgap meant to push presidents to send nominees to the Senate 1.
This is supposed to function as a stopgap to incentivize a president who has opted for the 546 route to get a nomination before the Senate,
Judge Jay Bybee, a George W. Bush appointee, asked whether Rogoff has the same powers as a Senate-confirmed U.S. attorney. Verrilli said yes. He argued that if the president can remove a court appointee, “the statutory structure is basically unraveled.” 1
What happens next
Verrilli noted that in 21 months of Trump's presidency, there is only one confirmed U.S. attorney in the Ninth Circuit and three nominees. He said “the timing suggests something” but that he would not speculate about motives 1.
Trump nominated Simon Peter Serrano for the Seattle post on Sept. 14. On Sept. 25, he directed Charles Floyd to perform the U.S. attorney's duties 1. Until the court rules, Floyd stays in charge of the office 2.
That matters because U.S. attorneys decide whom to charge in federal court. If a president can remove any prosecutor a court appoints, judges lose one of their few ways to keep these offices filled without the president's approval. The panel also included Judges Jennifer Sung, a Biden appointee, and Richard Paez, a Clinton appointee 1.
The Record
- A federal court appoints Roger Rogoff as U.S. attorney in Seattle; he is fired less than an hour after being sworn in 1.
- Trump nominates Simon Peter Serrano for the post 1.
- Judge Stanley Bastian rules that a court-appointed U.S. attorney cannot be removed unilaterally and orders Rogoff reinstated; the Ninth Circuit then pauses the order 2.
- A Ninth Circuit panel hears arguments and does not say when it will rule 1.
Sources
- Courthouse News, “Feds fight to keep US attorney fired” (2026-10-23). courthousenews.com/feds-fight-to-keep-us-attorney-fired/
- Minnesota Lawyer (Reuters), “9th Circuit pauses reinstatement of fired Seattle federal prosecutor” (2026-10-07). minnlawyer.com/2026/10/07/9th-circuit-pauses-reinstatement-s
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