为规避参议院确认程序、破坏宪法规定的权力平衡而采取的举措，如今集中在西雅图市中心一座联邦办公楼的五楼。那里是华盛顿州西区联邦检察官的办公地。这位检察官去年夏天被解职，上周又重新上任，但就在周末再度被免职。
The Trump administration’s latest effort to evade the Senate confirmation process and upset the constitutional balance of power is focused on the fifth floor of a federal office building in downtown Seattle. That’s the home of the US attorney for the Western District of Washington, who was fired last summer, restored to office last week and removed again over the weekend.
自2025年重新执政以来，唐纳德·特朗普总统的施政重点之一就是扩大行政权力，包括不受限制地任免联邦官员。最高法院在某些案件中支持了特朗普的主张，但就联邦检察官的任命而言，宪法与国会设定了重要制约机制，以防不合格或过于偏党派的候选人获得任命。最高法院理应介入并重申这一基本原则。
Since retaking office in 2025, part of President Donald Trump’s agenda has been to expand executive power, including an unfettered ability to hire and fire federal officials. The Supreme Court has agreed with Trump in some instances, but when it comes to US attorneys, the Constitution and Congress provide an essential check on the installation of unqualified or overly partisan appointees. The high court needs to step in and reaffirm this bedrock principle.
背景信息如下：2025年9月，时任司法部长帕姆·邦迪任命查尔斯·尼尔·弗洛伊德为西雅图地区的临时联邦检察官。然而，根据规定，临时任命者仅能任职120天，且必须获得参议院确认，而弗洛伊德并未获得这一确认。该期限届满后，联邦法律授权地区法院的法官填补这一空缺。同年7月，法官们一致推选该办公室的检察官罗杰·罗戈夫接任。
Some background: Then-Attorney General Pam Bondi appointed Charles Neil Floyd to serve as interim US attorney in Seattle in September 2025. But an interim appointee can serve for only 120 days unless he is confirmed by the Senate, which Floyd was not. When that period expires, a federal statute empowers the district court’s judges to fill the vacancy. In July they unanimously selected Roger Rogoff, a prosecutor in the office.
然而不到一小时，特朗普政府便解除了罗戈夫的职务，重新让弗洛伊德上任。罗戈夫随即提起诉讼，上周联邦地区法院裁定解职行为违法，并命令司法部恢复其原职。不过周日，第九巡回上诉法院受理了政府的上诉，暂时中止了该裁决的执行。
Within an hour, however, the Trump administration fired him and reinstalled Floyd. Rogoff sued, and last week, a federal district court ruled his firing illegal and ordered the Justice Department to restore him to his position. That ruling, in turn, was stayed on Sunday as the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals agreed to consider the administration’s appeal.
政府方面的律师或许应当仔细研读一下宪法第二条。该条款中最著名的规定便是“建议与同意”原则，即法官、大使及其他部分行政官员的任职必须获得参议院的批准。然而，美国联邦检察官被归类为“低级官员”，因此适用第二条中的另一项规定：国会可通过立法，将此类低级官员的任命权酌情授予总统、法院或各部委负责人。
The administration’s lawyers may want to give Article II of the Constitution a closer read. One of its best-known provisions is the “Advice and Consent” clause, stating that judges, ambassadors and some other executive branch officials may serve only with the approval of the Senate. But US attorneys are considered “inferior officers,” and therefore subject to a provision of Article II which provides that “Congress may by law vest the appointment of such inferior officers, as they think proper, in the president alone, in the courts of law, or in the heads of departments.”
就美国联邦检察官的任命而言，国会正是如此行事的。六十年前通过并经多次修订的法规规定，在特定情形下法院可任命联邦检察官——正如眼下西雅图所面临的状况：若120天过去仍无正式任命的联邦检察官，该法规便授权地方法院填补这一空缺。
When it comes to US attorneys, Congress has done just that. Legislation passed six decades ago and amended several times since allows the courts to appoint US attorneys in certain situations — including the one now presented in Seattle: If 120 days pass and no permanent US attorney has been confirmed, the statute empowers the district court to fill the vacancy.
若无此项规定，司法部长便可任命一名联邦检察官并使其无限期任职而无需参议院批准；或者每隔120天便任命一名新的检察官；又或者干脆让该职位长期空缺，这对当地民众而言显然有失公平。
Without such a provision, an attorney general could appoint a US attorney who could serve indefinitely without ever obtaining Senate confirmation. Or the attorney general could appoint a series of US attorneys at 120-day intervals. Or the attorney general could leave the position vacant, which would be a disservice to the people of that district.
正如斯坦利·A·巴斯蒂安法官在上周作出的恢复罗戈夫原职的裁决中所指出的，该法规明确规定由法院任命的检察官“任职至空缺被填补为止”，而填补空缺的前提正是获得参议院批准。由此可合理推断：总统无权解雇由法院任命的联邦检察官。尽管巴斯蒂安的裁决目前暂缓执行，但其立场与三家联邦上诉法院的裁决一致——这些法院均判定特朗普政府试图规避联邦检察官任命程序的做法违法。
As Judge Stanley A. Bastian noted in last week’s decision restoring Rogoff, the statute says the court appointee serves “until the vacancy is filled,” which requires Senate confirmation. The logical conclusion is that the president is not permitted to fire court-appointed US attorneys. Bastian’s decision, while stayed, is in line with that of three federal courts of appeals which have ruled against the Trump administration for seeking to circumvent to the appointment process of US attorneys.
这一差异可能至关重要，尤其是考虑到最高法院去年六月在 一案中的裁决。该裁决认定，总统可以在联邦贸易委员会（FTC）委员的七年任期结束前将其解雇，尽管相关法律规定，只有在“效率低下、玩忽职守或渎职”的情况下才能将其免职。目前尚未有任何案件将此裁决适用于其他行政部门职位。《宪法》第二条的措辞为法官们提供了一条路径，使他们能够区分像FTC委员这样的政策制定者，与像美国检察官这样的下属官员。
That difference could be crucial in light of the Supreme Court’s opinion last June in . That decision held that the president could fire a commissioner of the Federal Trade Commission before the expiration of her seven-year term, despite legislation permitting removal only for “inefficiency, neglect of duty, or malfeasance in office.”There has not yet been a case applying this decision to other executive-branch positions. The language of Article II gives the justices a path to draw a distinction between policymakers such as FTC commissioners and inferior officers such as US attorneys.
对该裁决采取更为宽泛的解释可能会带来灾难性后果，不仅对美国检察官，而且对整个联邦政府雇员群体而言皆是如此。自1883年《彭德顿法案》建立职业文官制度以来，联邦雇员一直受到免受政治原因解雇的保护，这使他们能够积累专业知识和技能，从而造福公众。
A more expansive view of the decision could have disastrous consequences, not only for US attorneys, but for the entire federal workforce. Since 1883, when the Pendleton Act created the professional civil service, federal workers have been protected from termination on political grounds, enabling them to develop expertise that benefits the public.
确认程序对总统的任命权构成了重要的制衡。当我在巴拉克·奥巴马总统任期内被提名为美国检察官时，我接受了参议院的严格审查——而在此之前，我已经经过了政府内部的全面背景调查。这一程序确保了每一位美国检察官提名人选都具备必要的资格，能够胜任各司法区首席执法官员的角色，并行使强制取证以及将个人自由置于风险之中的权力。
The confirmation process serves as an important check on the president’s appointment power. When I was nominated to serve as US attorney during the presidency of Barack Obama, I received rigorous scrutiny from the Senate — and that was after being thoroughly vetted by the administration. The process ensured that each nominee for US attorney possessed the requisite qualifications to perform their roles as the chief law enforcement officials in each judicial district, entrusted with the power to compel evidence and place a person’s liberty in jeopardy.
当此案提交至最高法院时，法官们将有机会恢复他们此前在 一案中受到质疑的权力平衡。一项将下属官员的任命与政策制定者区分开来的裁决，不仅将保护联邦政府雇员的文官制度保障，还将确保只有经过法院或参议院审查的候选人，才能行使美国检察官这一职位所拥有的巨大权力。
When this case reaches the Supreme Court, the justices will have an opportunity to restore the balance of power they have thrown into question in A decision to distinguish the appointment of inferior officers from policymakers will not only safeguard the civil-service protections of the federal workforce. It will also ensure that only candidates vetted by courts or the Senate can wield the awesome power of a United States attorney.