Roger Rogoff, the top federal prosecutor in Seattle, sued Tuesday over his termination less than an hour after he was sworn in, opening a legal challenge to the Trump administration’s efforts to control who occupies powerful Justice Department posts. Rogoff was fired last week after President Donald Trump ordered his removal.

Rogoff is the latest in a series of judicially appointed U.S. attorneys to be ousted by the Trump administration and is believed to be the first of that group to sue. His case will test the Justice Department’s authority to fire federal prosecutors appointed by judges.

A dispute over appointment power

Federal judges in the district unanimously appointed Rogoff as U.S. attorney for western Washington. The lawsuit contends that his firing was unconstitutional and disregarded the judges’ authority to name him until the vacancy could be filled through a Senate-confirmed nominee. The complaint asks for a court order declaring that the firing “was unlawful and is void” and stating that Rogoff at least temporarily remains U.S. attorney.

“The President’s actions violate the law, and they ignore the protections of the Constitution of the United States,” Rogoff said in a statement issued through the law firm representing him. “His removal of me, like his removal of other court-appointed U.S. attorneys across the country, is illegal and cannot stand.”

U.S. attorneys typically are nominated by the president and confirmed by the Senate. When a vacancy occurs, the attorney general may appoint an interim U.S. attorney for 120 days. After that temporary appointment expires, judges in the judicial district may name a U.S. attorney who can serve until a Senate-confirmed appointee is selected.

Rogoff’s district has not had a Senate-confirmed U.S. attorney since 2023. He submitted his name for consideration after the judges signaled their intent last January to fill a vacancy created when the 120-day term of Charles Neil Floyd, appointed on an interim basis by then-Attorney General Pam Bondi, ended.

Before Rogoff’s appointment, acting Attorney General Todd Blanche wrote on X that candidates selected through the court process did not have the president’s support and that he expected them to “suffer the same fate as others have when judges ignore Article II” of the Constitution. After Rogoff was fired, Blanche wrote that “District court judges can appoint a temporary U.S. Attorney, and POTUS can fire them.” The Justice Department said Tuesday that “the district court did not coordinate with DOJ on this selection” and that, consistent with other firings of this type, the action was “wholly within the President’s authority.”