SEATTLE — A federal judge on Thursday blocked President Donald Trump from firing the top federal prosecutor in Seattle, reinstating Roger Rogoff as U.S. attorney for the Western District of Washington in a ruling that strikes at the heart of presidential removal power.
U.S. District Judge Stanley Bastian, an appointee of former President Barack Obama, granted Rogoff a preliminary injunction and barred the Trump administration and the Justice Department from interfering with his duties while his lawsuit proceeds.
"Mr. Roger Rogoff is the United States Attorney for the Western District of Washington and has been the rightful holder of that office since July 15th, 2026," Bastian said from the bench, according to the Associated Press.
The Legal Tug-of-War
The case began in July when the 17 active and senior judges in the Western District unanimously named Rogoff, a former King County Superior Court judge and veteran prosecutor, to the post after Trump failed to secure a Senate-confirmed nominee. The president fired Rogoff less than an hour later by email.
Rogoff sued, and Bastian found the termination unlawful.
The administration had kept Charles Neil Floyd, a former immigration judge, in the office as first assistant U.S. attorney after his interim tenure expired. In October 2025, Trump named Floyd interim U.S. attorney but never forwarded his nomination to the Senate.
Earlier this month, Trump nominated Pete Serrano, the first assistant U.S. attorney in Eastern Washington, to lead the Western Washington office. Bastian said Serrano is not the U.S. attorney because the Senate has not confirmed him.
Federal law allows the attorney general to appoint an interim U.S. attorney for 120 days. When temporary appointments expire before a nominee is confirmed, district judges can name a U.S. attorney to serve until the vacancy is filled.
"It is a win for the rule of law, not for me," Rogoff said after leaving the courthouse, according to AP. "The court recognized that in order to appoint someone as the U.S. attorney, you have to get Senate confirmation. That hasn't happened."
NBC News and the Associated Press reported the ruling is believed to be the first time a judicially appointed U.S. attorney has sued over removal, setting up a direct legal battle over the scope of presidential power under the Constitution.
CBS News noted the decision on social media, posting on X: "Judge blocks Trump's firing of top federal prosecutor in Seattle and restores him as U.S. attorney."
The Justice Department has argued the president has broad authority to remove U.S. attorneys. The Washington Post reported the ruling is the latest in a string of decisions finding the administration bent federal law to keep loyalists in key prosecutorial posts. POLITICO called it "a major loss for Trump's effort to install loyalists in key positions."
CNN Politics reported the ruling "tests the scope of a president's removal power under the Constitution."
What This Means for Federal Prosecutions
The practical effect is immediate: Rogoff returns to overseeing federal prosecutions in Western Washington, one of the nation's busiest districts. The Justice Department cannot interfere with his duties while the lawsuit proceeds.
The constitutional questions at stake are enormous. Article II of the Constitution vests executive power in the president, and the Supreme Court has long recognized the president's authority to remove executive branch officers. But federal law also gives district judges a role in filling vacancies when the Senate has not confirmed a nominee.
The case now heads toward further litigation that could reach the Supreme Court, where the Trump administration has already won major victories on presidential removal power.
For now, Judge Bastian's injunction stands. The White House has not indicated whether it will appeal.
Our Take
Patriots, this is what the Deep State looks like when it drops the pretense.
An Obama-appointed judge — after judges in the Western District of Washington appointed a prosecutor less than an hour before Trump fired him — has now ruled that the president of the United States cannot remove a federal prosecutor he did not appoint and whose appointment the Senate never confirmed.
Let that sink in.
The Founders gave the president the power to remove executive branch officers for a reason. A president who cannot fire the prosecutors who serve under him is not a president — he is a figurehead. The Constitution vests executive power in ONE person, and that person is Donald J. Trump.
The Left howls about "the rule of law" while using unelected judges to nullify the votes of 77 million Americans. They scream about democracy while blocking the elected president from staffing his own Justice Department.
"It is a win for the rule of law, not for me," Rogoff says. Here's the problem: the rule of law doesn't mean rule by lawyer. It doesn't mean rule by judge. It means rule by the Constitution — the same Constitution that says the president holds the executive power.
This is the same playbook we've seen for years: judicial appointees, never elected by anyone, deciding who gets to run federal agencies. And now a judge appointed by Barack Obama is telling the 47th President of the United States who he can and cannot fire.
The Trump administration should appeal immediately and take this as far as it needs to go. The Supreme Court has already shown it understands the president's removal power. This case should end the same way.
What do you think, folks? Should a single federal judge be able to stop the president from firing a prosecutor the Senate never confirmed? Or is this exactly the kind of judicial overreach the swamp uses to protect itself?
