On Wednesday, the White House immediately terminated a Democrat prosecutor whom a group of federal judges appointed to replace the Trump administration’s interim US Attorney for the Western District of Washington, Neil Floyd, resulting in a major clash. Floyd will remain in his position.
The district’s 17 federal judges appointed Roger Rogoff, a former King County Superior Court Judge, to temporarily replace First Assistant US Attorney Floyd, a conservative-leaning former immigration judge. Floyd has not been formally nominated by President Donald Trump, so the federal judges decided to select their own US Attorney under a contested federal law that allows judges to make appointments if a nomination has not yet been sent to the Senate.
Rogoff’s appointment was seen as going behind the Department of Justice’s back, as the Constitution states that only the president has the power to pick US attorneys.
Rogoff was sworn in at 7:40 am, and 54-minutes later, he received a text message from the White House stating that he had been fired. “We are working on legal action right now,” Rogoff told the Seattle Times. Citing sources familiar with the matter, journalist and podcaster Brandi Kruse reported that Rogoff attempted to boot Floyd out of his office on Wednesday morning, only to be terminated instead.
Similar instances have played out in several other states, such as New York and New Jersey. Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche previously made it clear that “Judges don’t pick US Attorneys, President Trump does.” Blanche cited Article II of the US Constitution. Trump’s DOJ has terminated judge-appointed US Attorneys who attempted to replace their selections.
Floyd was appointed by former Attorney General Pam Bondi in October 2025 and was promoted to “First Assistant US Attorney” after his 120-day statutory term ended in February. The region’s top prosecutor did not advance to the nomination process after being halted by longstanding Democratic Senator Patty Murray of Washington, who said that she would oppose Floyd’s nomination using the Senate’s “blue slip” tradition, commonly known as veto authority. Following this, the Trump administration declined to formally submit his name.
Floyd will remain in place as First Assistant US Attorney following Rogoff’s termination. The US District Court for the Western District of Washington is where many of the lawsuits have been filed against President Trump’s policies since he returned to the White House in 2025.
