By Mike Scarcella and Nate Raymond
WASHINGTON, Oct 1 (Reuters) - A federal judge ordered the Trump administration on Thursday to reinstate a court-appointed federal prosecutor in Seattle whom President Donald Trump fired less than an hour after his appointment.
Chief Judge Stanley Bastian of the federal court in Yakima, Washington, ruled preliminarily for Roger Rogoff in a lawsuit he filed in July after his ouster as the court-appointed US attorney for the Western District of Washington.
"Congress did
not give the power to fill this inferior office to the president alone," Bastian said at the conclusion of a hearing on Thursday. The president, Bastian said, "cannot unilaterally fire a United States attorney appointed by the district court."
The ruling marked the first legal victory for a court-appointed US attorney removed by the Trump administration amid a broader power struggle between the White House and the federal judiciary. The administration has ousted court-appointed US attorneys it did not favor in New York, New Jersey and Virginia, but Rogoff was the first to sue.
Rogoff in a statement after the ruling said he is "gratified that the district court recognized the importance of following the Constitution and following the law." He added: "Now I need to get to work."
In a social media post, the Justice Department said "we disagree with the decision and intend to seek an immediate stay and will appeal."
The Justice Department has previously said Trump's firing of Rogoff was within the scope of executive power.
Rogoff was appointed by the judges of the Western District of Washington after the top post at the US attorney’s office had remained vacant without a Senate-confirmed nominee. Rogoff is an attorney at the law firm Osborn Machler & Neff.
Bastian, an appointee of former President Barack Obama, said "Rogoff is the United States attorney for the Western District of Washington, and has been the rightful holder of that office since July 15, 2026, when he took the oath of office."
The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Trump recently nominated Pete Serrano to lead the office, which has 85 attorneys and 70 support staff.
Bastian ordered the Trump administration to not obstruct Rogoff from accessing benefits and resources as the head of the US attorney's office.
(Reporting by Mike Scarcella and Nate Raymond; Editing by David Bario and Sanjeev Miglani)
