US judge restores court-appointed top federal prosecutor Trump fired in Seattle

On October 1, a federal judge in Washington ordered the Trump administration to reinstate Roger Rogoff, a court-appointed federal prosecutor in Seattle whom President Donald Trump had fired only an hour earlier. The judge, Stanley Bastian, ruled in favor of Rogoff in a lawsuit he filed in July, stating that Congress did not grant the president the power to fill this inferior office alone.

Bastian emphasized that the president cannot unilaterally fire a United States attorney appointed by the district court. This legal victory marked the first time a court-appointed US attorney had been successfully retained by the Trump administration, despite similar ousters in New York, New Jersey, and Virginia. Rogoff, appointed by the judges of the Western District of Washington, expressed his gratitude for the court's recognition of following the Constitution and the law, and stated his intention to start working.

The Justice Department disagreed with the judge's decision and announced it would seek an immediate stay and appeal. The administration claimed Rogoff's firing was within the scope of executive power. Rogoff, an attorney at the law firm Osborn Machler & Neff, was appointed by the district court judges after the previous top US attorney's office position remained vacant, awaiting a Senate-confirmed nominee.