Trump fires new US attorney in Seattle an hour after federal judges appoint him

Trump fires new US attorney in Seattle an hour after federal judges appoint him.

Donald Trump fired the new top federal prosecutor in Seattle on Wednesday less than an hour after the attorney was unanimously appointed by the federal judges in the district, highlighting tensions between the courts and the president over the powerful positions.

Presidents normally appoint US attorneys, the top federal prosecutors in each judicial district. The positions require Senate confirmation, except in temporary appointments. When temporary appointments expire before a nominee is confirmed, the judges in a judicial district can name a US attorney. But under Trump, the justice department has sought to leave unconfirmed prosecutors in their positions indefinitely, often through novel personnel maneuvers.

"District court judges can appoint a temporary US attorney, and [the president] can fire them," the acting US attorney general, Todd Blanche, said in a social media post on Wednesday. He added that the judges who appointed Rogoff "abandoned the time-honored process of consultation with the administration so that the selected US attorney is qualified to serve in the administration."

On Wednesday morning the court -- comprising 17 active and senior judges appointed by five presidents -- issued its unanimous order naming Rogoff the US attorney for western Washington. Patty Murray, a US senator from Washington, blasted Rogoff's quick firing. "he was appointed legally by the federal judges in the western district of Washington," the senator said. "This administration doesn't want to deal with advice and consent -- they just want to install cronies to carry out a corrupt political agenda."

In December, Alina Habba resigned as the top federal prosecutor for New Jersey after an appeals court said she had been serving in the post unlawfully. Lindsey Halligan left her position as an acting US attorney in Virginia after a judge concluded her appointment was unlawful and that indictments she brought against Letitia James and James Comey must be dismissed. The judges there named James Hundley as US attorney, but the Trump administration fired him. It also fired a court-appointed US attorney in northern New York.