(The Center Square) – Roger Rogoff, appointed by local federal judges to serve as the interim United States Attorney for the Western District of Washington, filed a lawsuit Tuesday against President Trump and top Justice Department officials contesting his removal from office.
The federal lawsuit seeks to block the administration’s attempt to dismiss him and asks the court to restore him to his position. The complaint names Trump, Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche and the U.S. Department of Justice as defendants.
Rogoff’s removal came almost as soon as his tenure began. On July 15, judges in the district exercised their authority to appoint Rogoff to fill the vacant top prosecutor position. However, less than an hour after taking the oath of office, Rogoff was notified by the Executive Office of the President that he had been terminated.
“District court judges can appoint a temporary U.S. Attorney, and POTUS can fire them,” Blanche wrote on X shortly after Rogoff’s dismissal. “(Washington) 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.”
Rogoff argued in his lawsuit that his firing was unconstitutional.
“By purporting to fire Mr. Rogoff – and apparently committing to firing anyone else a district court appoints without “the support of POTUS” – the President has attempted to negate Congress’s exercise of its constitutionally enumerated power,” the lawsuit contends.
The dispute stems from how temporary leadership vacancies are handled in federal prosecutor offices. Under the standard process, the Department of Justice can appoint temporary U.S. attorneys for a set period. Once that initial timeframe expires without a Senate-confirmed nominee from the White House, authority to select an interim leader shifts to the district court’s judges.
Following the expiration of previous temporary appointments by the executive branch, local judges stepped in to appoint Rogoff. He argues that because no permanent presidential nominee has been confirmed by the Senate to fill the position, the administration lacks the authority to remove a court-appointed interim attorney.
In his complaint, Rogoff contends that the White House’s swift action undermines the balance of power between the executive branch and the judiciary. He argues that congressional rules specifically allow courts to make temporary appointments as a check to ensure the executive branch does not bypass the traditional Senate approval process.
“The President’s actions violate the law, and they ignore the protections of the Constitution of the United States,” Rogoff said in a statement, the Associated Press reported. “His removal of me, like his removal of other court-appointed U.S. Attorneys across the country, is illegal and cannot stand.”
According to the lawsuit, similar clashes over interim court appointments have surfaced in other federal districts across the country. Following Rogoff’s brief hour in office and subsequent removal, his predecessor’s deputy assumed operational leadership of the office, an arrangement Rogoff claims lacks proper legal standing.
Rogoff is asking a federal judge to declare his termination invalid and grant an injunction allowing him to return to his post as the district’s chief federal law enforcement officer.
A spokesperson for the Justice Department said the district court did not follow proper protocol by not consulting the Justice Department on its selection, NBC News reported.
“The district court did not coordinate with DOJ on this selection. Consistent with other firings of this type, this is wholly within the President’s authority,” the spokesperson said in a statement according to the outlet.