Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche announced the firing of a newly appointed interim U.S. attorney, Roger Rogoff, in western Washington state on Wednesday.
In a statement posted on X, Blanche wrote that “district court judges can appoint a temporary U.S. Attorney, and POTUS can fire them. … Roger Rogoff has been fired by the President.”
Judges in the Western District of Washington, he added, “abandoned the time-honored process of consultation with the administration so that the selected U.S. attorney is qualified to serve in the administration.”
Blanche’s announcement came shortly after judges in the district issued an order that appointed Rogoff as U.S. attorney “with immediate effect” on Wednesday.
They praised Rogoff as having “deep ties” to the district, which includes Seattle, Tacoma, Olympia, the Olympic Peninsula, Bellingham, Bellevue, and more.
“Rogoff is authorized to serve as the United States Attorney for the Western District of Washington until the vacancy is filled by an officer appointed by the president with the advice and consent of the Senate” under the Constitution, the court said.
Rogoff did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
After Blanche’s announcement, Sen. Patty Murray (D-Wash.) criticized the decision.
“Throughout his career, he has demonstrated an outstanding commitment to public service, and he was appointed legally by the federal judges in the Western District of Washington,” the senator said. “This administration doesn’t want to deal with advice and consent—they just want to install cronies to carry out a corrupt political agenda.”
Presidents generally appoint U.S. attorneys, who serve as the top federal prosecutor in each judicial district. The positions need to have Senate confirmation except when there are temporary appointments.
When those temporary arrangements expire, judges in the judicial district can name a replacement U.S. attorney.
Blanche in February also announced that New York prosecutor Donald Kinsella was fired on the same day he was appointed by federal judges to become U.S. attorney for the Northern District of New York.
That same month, the Trump administration fired James Hundley after judges in the Eastern District of Virginia appointed him as the U.S. attorney for that district.
It came after Lindsey Halligan, who pursued indictments against former FBI Director James Comey and New York Attorney General Letitia James, departed her position as the acting U.S. attorney in a Virginia district after a judge ruled her appointment unlawful. The judge also threw out the indictments against Comey and James.
Last year, then-Attorney General Pam Bondi announced that Desiree Leigh Grace was fired hours after she was appointed as the U.S. attorney for New Jersey, saying the Department of Justice would not “tolerate rogue judges.” She cited Section II of the U.S. Constitution that says the president can hire U.S. attorneys.
In December, former Trump attorney Alina Habba announced her resignation as the top acting federal prosecutor for New Jersey after a federal appeals court wrote that she had been serving in the post in an unlawful manner.
