Roger Rogoff was sworn in Wednesday morning as the new U.S. attorney for western Washington.

Then he walked across town, entered the U.S. Attorney’s Office, asked to see the man the Trump administration wanted in the job—and discovered that his exciting new federal career was already over.

Rogoff, a former state judge and longtime prosecutor, had been appointed by the federal judges of Washington’s Western District after the administration’s preferred interim prosecutor reached the end of his statutory term.

The judges apparently believed they had found an elegant solution.

President Donald Trump apparently found an even simpler one:

You’re fired.

Rogoff was sworn in before 8 a.m. at the federal courthouse in Seattle. Less than an hour later, while reportedly waiting in the lobby of the office he had just been appointed to run, he received an email informing him that the president had removed him.

Not a farewell luncheon.

Not a commemorative plaque.

Not even enough time to locate the employee refrigerator and label his yogurt.

Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche announced the dismissal on X, explaining that federal judges may appoint a temporary U.S. attorney—but the president may also remove that person.

“Roger Rogoff has been fired by the President,” Blanche wrote, bringing Rogoff’s historic administration to an end sometime between breakfast and the first coffee break.

All 17 active and senior federal judges in the district had participated in selecting Rogoff. The group included judges appointed by both Democratic and Republican presidents, and Rogoff said he was honored that people familiar with his career believed he was qualified.

Unfortunately, they neglected to include the one recommendation that mattered most: the president’s.

The clash began after Charles Neil Floyd, the administration’s preferred prosecutor, completed a 120-day interim term. Rather than send Floyd’s nomination through the Senate, the Justice Department reportedly moved him into another position while leaving him effectively in charge.

The judges then used their authority under federal law to appoint Rogoff until a permanent nominee could be confirmed.

It was a legally available maneuver.

It was also apparently an excellent way to become unemployed before lunchtime.

Rogoff later complained that the administration’s personnel arrangements were not the proper way to operate the Justice Department. He has retained an employment-law firm and is considering challenging his dismissal.

That means the man who spent approximately one cup of coffee as U.S. attorney may now devote considerably more time to litigating the loss of the position than he ever spent occupying it.

Washington Democratic Sen. Patty Murray defended Rogoff and accused the administration of trying to install loyalists rather than respecting the Senate confirmation process.

The administration argues that Democrats have deliberately obstructed its nominees and that it has every right to remove prosecutors appointed without White House approval.

That broader constitutional fight may continue for months.

Rogoff’s tenure did not.

He entered the courthouse as a respected former judge preparing to become the region’s chief federal prosecutor. He arrived at his new office ready to meet the staff.

By the time someone could have shown him where the copier was, he was already considering a wrongful-termination lawyer.

Rogoff said being U.S. attorney was “the best job there is.”

Based on his experience, it may also have the world’s shortest orientation program.