The Justice Department on Wednesday said Alina Habba is still interim U.S. attorney for New Jersey after the district’s majority Democratic-appointed judges tried to boot her this week.
Ms. Habba was appointed to her post by President Trump in March.
She was to serve for 120 days until the Senate confirmed her permanently to the position, but that didn’t occur as the state’s two Democratic senators opposed her nomination.
The district’s 17 judges, 15 of which were appointed by President Obama and President Biden, voted Tuesday to remove her and appoint Desiree Leigh Grace, a subordinate to Ms. Habba, to the position.
In a quick turn of events, Attorney General Pam Bondi posted on social media that Ms. Grace was fired.
“@USAttyHabba has been doing a great job in making NJ safe again. Nonetheless, politically minded judges refused to allow her to continue in her position, replacing Alina with the First Assistant,” Ms. Bondi posted on X.
“Accordingly, the First Assistant United States Attorney in New Jersey has just been removed. This Department of Justice does not tolerate rogue judges — especially when they threaten the President’s core Article II powers.”
Todd Blanche, the second-ranking attorney at the Justice Department, said Ms. Habba’s term doesn’t expire until Friday night.
“The district court judges in NJ are trying to force out @USAttyHabba before her term expires at 11:59 p.m. Friday. Their rush reveals what this was always about: a left-wing agenda, not the rule of law. When judges act like activists, they undermine confidence in our justice system,” he posted on X.
“Alina is President Trump’s choice to lead — and no partisan bench can override that.”
It’s unclear if the judges in the district have the authority to enforce their appointment or if that authority falls to Ms. Bondi or Mr. Trump.
Mary Graw Leary, a professor at D.C.’s Columbus School of Law, said the situation is “rare.”
“The position of the United States Attorney is a very important one for any federal district. They are the chief prosecutor and enforcer of federal law. Therefore, it is essential that they are approved by the United States Senate,” she said in an email to The Washington Times.
She said when an office lacks a leader in the U.S. attorney’s office, the victims of crime suffer.
The Justice Department remains firm that Ms. Habba is still on duty.
“Habba’s 120 days has not expired,” Chad Gilmartin, a spokesman for the DOJ, told The Times on Wednesday.
A similar situation occurred last week, but judges declined to boot Mr. Trump’s U.S. attorney for the Northern District of New York, John A. Sarcone III. Instead, the Justice Department named him “special attorney” to Ms. Bondi.
In that role, he does the same duties but has a term of 240 days, according to Carl Tobias, a law professor at the University of Richmond.
Mr. Tobias said he expects the same precedent to be followed with Ms. Habba after Friday.
Mark Osler, a law professor at the University of St. Thomas in Minnesota, said this is an unusual situation that may have to be resolved by the courts — whether Ms. Bondi’s or the judges’ appointment reigns.
“Normally, this would be resolved in the courts, but here the relevant fact-finding court is at the center of the dispute. Congress could resolve the issue by confirming a nominee, but it appears that isn’t happening anytime soon! It may be that, like so many recent questions about executive power, this ends up at the inbox of the Supreme Court,” he said.
Ms. Habba served as a personal attorney to Mr. Trump before he won the 2024 election and joined him at the White House as a senior counselor and adviser.
In March, she was sworn in as the U.S. attorney for New Jersey, her home state. In the role, she notably indicted Rep. LaMonica McIver, New Jersey Democrat, for her actions outside a federal immigration facility in May.
That prosecution is pending.
