US attorney in Washington fired by Trump, then reinstated by judge, is out again

Mike Carter, The Seattle Times on Oct 6, 2026

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SEATTLE — The 9th Circuit Court of Appeals has stayed an order issued last week that reinstated the U.S. attorney in Western Washington who was fired by President Donald Trump.

Roger Rogoff, who was appointed to the post by the 17 sitting federal judges in July only to be fired by Trump less than an hour later, won the post back on Thursday after Chief U.S. District Judge Stanley Bastian of Eastern Washington issued a preliminary injunction in a rare order from the bench following an hourlong hearing.

Bastian ruled that Trump had no authority to terminate Rogoff — a former state judge and federal prosecutor — and ordered the president and the Justice Department not to interfere with Rogoff’s duties.

On Saturday, the Justice Department sought an emergency stay with the appeals court, arguing that Bastian's injunction was unprecedented and indefensible."

The appeals court issued an administrative stay "intended to preserve the status quo" until the judges can consider whether to hear the government's motion to overturn Bastian's injunction.

Hailyn Chen, the Los Angeles attorney who argued Rogoff's case before Bastian on Thursday, said her client would not oppose the temporary stay. She said the 9th Circuit has set a "lightning fast" schedule for the appeal, with a hearing expected this month.

In the meantime, former immigration judge Charles Neil Floyd will resume his role as the region's top federal prosecutor.

Trump nominated Floyd as interim U.S. attorney of Western Washington in October 2025, but then failed to send the nomination to the U.S. Senate for approval. The law states that if an interim appointment is not sent for advice and consent by the Senate in 120 days, then the judges from the district can appoint a U.S. attorney until a presidential nominee is confirmed by the Senate.

In what appeared to be an attempt to bypass Senate approval, the Justice Department named Floyd the "first assistant" U.S. Attorney, although his duties remained the same. Then, last month, in another apparent effort to sidestep the appointment provision of the second article of the U.S. Constitution, Trump nominated Pete Serrano of Spokane to be the U.S. attorney in Seattle — a nomination that is sharply opposed by Sen. Patty Murray, a Washington Democrat.

In a written statement issued Monday — his first since Bastian's order — Rogoff said the lawsuit leading to the injunction "was never about me, but about the absolute requirement that our government follow the law and the Constitution when appointing U.S. attorneys."

"We will not oppose the government’s motion for a stay while the appeal is pending in the 9th Circuit so that we can focus our efforts on defending the district court’s decision on an expedited basis," he said. "Unfortunately, this means that the U.S. Attorney’s Office remains under the leadership of an unlawfully appointed head, and the vital work of the federal prosecutors continues to be subject to challenge.

Rogoff, a graduate of the University of Washington School of Law, began his career in the King County prosecuting attorney’s office, where he handled sexual assault and domestic violence cases, eventually rising to supervise those units.

He also served as an assistant U.S. attorney in the Western District of Washington, working on violent crime, gang and firearms-related matters.

He was appointed a King County Superior Court judge by Gov. Jay Inslee in 2013. In 2022, Inslee appointed Rogoff as the first director of the statewide office of independent investigations, created to provide independent reviews of police deadly force incidents.