The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals over the weekend granted the Justice Department an emergency stay allowing President Donald Trump to remove Roger Rogoff, the court-appointed U.S. attorney for the Western District of Washington, while the matter makes its way through the appeals courts.

The ruling pauses a recent district court order that blocked Trump from firing Rogoff and restored him as the U.S. attorney for the district. 

The court, in its ruling filed Sunday, says the stay is "only intended to preserve the status quo until the substantive motion for a pending appeal can be considered on the merits and does not consider in any way a decision as to the merits of the appeal."

The ruling followed a lawsuit by Rogoff, appointed by a federal court in July to be Seattle’s U.S. attorney, then fired minutes later, according to CNN. 

A case is testing the scope of a president’s removal powers under the Constitution.