Alina Habba not retained by federal judges as US attorney for New Jersey

Judges on the U.S. District Court of New Jersey have declined to retain President Trump’s pick for the state’s top federal prosecutor, Alina Habba, as the clock on her interim status runs out.  

In a terse standing order, the court tapped attorney Desiree Leigh Grace to lead the office hours before the expiration of Habba’s 120-day temporary term. The appointment is effective as of Tuesday, according to the order signed by U.S. District Judge Renée Marie Bumb, the district’s chief judge. 

Habba, who served as a personal lawyer for Trump, assumed the role in March. Her profile as a staunch defender of the president in the courtroom and the press was raised while representing him in his business fraud case and the defamation and sexual assault lawsuits brought by advice columnist E. Jean Carroll.

Early in her interim term, her leadership came under scrutiny following the arrests and charges against Newark, N.J., Mayor Ras Baraka (D) and Rep. LaMonica McIver (D-N.J.) stemming from an incident at a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement facility.

Although a trespass count against Baraka was dropped, McIver is still fighting her criminal charges in court. She has pleaded not guilty to three counts of assaulting, resisting, impeding and interfering with federal officers.

At a hearing dismissing Baraka’s charge, a federal judge said the arrest suggested a “worrisome misstep” by the office, noting the “apparent rush” in bringing the case that culminated in the government’s “embarrassing” retraction of the charge. Baraka has sued Habba for damages over his arrest. 

Despite that, high-ranking Justice Department officials imparted trust in Habba's ability to run the office.  

Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche wrote on the social platform X before the announcement that Habba brought “steady leadership and sound judgment” as interim U.S. Attorney for New Jersey. He said she has the “full confidence” of the president and DOJ. 

After the court’s order, he said the judges were trying to “force” Habba out before the end of her term, which he suggested ends Friday before midnight. 

“Their rush reveals what this was always about: a left-wing agenda, not the rule of law,” Blanche wrote Tuesday. “When judges act like activists, they undermine confidence in our justice system. Alina is President Trump’s choice to lead—and no partisan bench can override that.” 

A New Jersey native and first-generation American, Habba became part of Trump’s orbit by representing him in a defamation lawsuit brought by former “Apprentice” contestant Summer Zervos, who later dropped the case.   

Most recently, she worked in the White House as a counselor to the president and, before that, as Trump’s legal spokesperson and a senior adviser to his campaign. 

The New Jersey federal judges’ decision comes after judges in the Northern District of New York made a similar choice. They refused to extend the interim term of John Sarcone III, Trump’s pick there for the district’s chief federal prosecutor. 

However, to get around that decision, Sarcone was appointed as a “special attorney” to Attorney General Pam Bondi, which gave him the powers of a U.S. attorney indefinitely, according to the New York Times.

In both instances, the judges had the authority to keep the prosecutors in their roles indefinitely, until Trump fills the vacancy, but they declined to do so. 

Grace served as Habba’s first assistant before being appointed to the new role. 

Updated at 2:27 p.m. EDT