9th Circuit Pauses Reinstatement of Seattle U.S. Attorney Trump Fired

WASHINGTON, A federal appeals court on Sunday blocked the return of Roger Rogoff as U.S. attorney for the Western District of Washington, handing the Trump administration a temporary reprieve in a standoff over presidential removal power.

According to a Reuters report published Oct. 4, the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals granted the Justice Department's request for an administrative stay while it considers the merits of the case. The order keeps Rogoff off the job for now and preserves the status quo pending the government's appeal.

The stay came three days after U.S. District Court Chief Judge Stanley Bastian, an Obama appointee, ruled from the bench that Trump had no authority to fire Rogoff and ordered him reinstated. Bastian declined to pause his own order, prompting the Justice Department to go directly to the 9th Circuit, according to Law360, which reviewed the filings.

The case is Rogoff v. Trump, 9th Cir., No. 26-6445.

The underlying facts are not in dispute. The 17 sitting federal judges of the Western District appointed Rogoff in July after the post sat without a Senate-confirmed leader. Under federal law, the attorney general may name an interim U.S. attorney for 120 days; once that window closes, the district court may fill the vacancy until the Senate confirms a nominee. The judges voted unanimously to appoint Rogoff, a former King County Superior Court judge and career federal prosecutor.

According to reporting by the Lynnwood Times, Rogoff was sworn in at the Seattle courthouse on the morning of July 15. Trump fired him by email less than an hour later. The administration left Charles Neil Floyd, who had been serving as interim U.S. attorney, in effective control of the office.

Rogoff sued over his dismissal. He's the first court-appointed U.S. attorney to challenge a firing by the Trump administration, according to Reuters.

Justice Department attorneys argued in their emergency stay request that restoring Rogoff would create what they called "chaos" in the office. Bloomberg Law, which reviewed the 9th Circuit order, reported that the panel's unsigned stay is intended only to hold the position until the court can rule on whether to suspend the reinstatement for the duration of the appeal.

The trial court found Trump's termination violated both the Constitution and federal statute, according to Bloomberg Law. The 9th Circuit has not yet addressed those merits.

The dispute is part of a broader pattern. Trump has fired several court-appointed federal prosecutors during his second term, according to Reuters, as part of an ongoing power struggle between his administration and the federal judiciary over who controls U.S. attorney offices where the Senate has not confirmed a nominee.

Floyd remains in charge of the Seattle office while the 9th Circuit weighs the government's request for a longer stay through the appeal. No hearing date has been set.

Sources cited:
- Reuters / U.S. News & World Report (https://www.usnews.com/news/politics/articles/2026-10-04/appeals-court-pauses-reinstatement-of-fired-seattle-federal-prosecutor)
- Bloomberg Law (https://news.bloomberglaw.com/us-law-week/appeals-court-pauses-return-of-seattle-us-attorney-trump-fired)
- Law360 (https://www.law360.com/appellate/articles/2533530)
- Lynnwood Times (https://lynnwoodtimes.com/2026/10/04/rogoff/)
- The Spokesman-Review (https://www.spokesman.com/stories/2026/oct/01/judge-reinstates-us-attorney-in-western-wa-who-was/)