The Trump Department of Justice axed a U.S. attorney less than an hour after his appointment, The New York Times reported.
According to the report, Roger Rogoff led the U.S. attorney's office in Seattle for 54 minutes before he was fired via email by the DOJ. Federal judges in the Western District of Washington unanimously appointed him as the DOJ's top official there, which filled a vacancy that Trump hadn't addressed, the Times added.
The quick dismissal could lead to a "lengthy, difficult" court battle in which Rogoff can argue that Trump lacks the authority to fire him because he was appointed under a statute, according to the Times.
"A statutory provision empowers district courts to appoint a temporary U.S. attorney to 'serve until the vacancy is filled' by a traditional appointee," Elizabeth G. Porter, a law professor at the University of Washington, told the Times via email. "It is possible to argue that this language insulates the appointee from being fired without cause by the president. But I think this is a tough argument."
The Trump administration's original pick for the role was Charles Neil Floyd, a first assistant U.S. attorney, but he never received a formal nomination from the president nor approval from the Senate, the Times reported.
If Rogoff is able to challenge his firing in court to remain in his post, it could "raise the extraordinary prospect that a U.S. attorney could operate quasi-independently of the Trump administration," and mean that Floyd "could eventually have to answer to Mr. Rogoff," the Times added.