Alina Habba to remain N.J. prosecutor: “I don’t cower to pressure”
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Alina Habba Is Set to Become Acting U.S. Attorney in New Jersey
Alina Habba’s tenure as interim U.S. attorney was set to expire on Friday. But she announced on social media on Thursday that she would be New Jersey’s acting attorney. The decision will allow Ms. Habba to lead the New Jersey office for at least the next 210 days.
Ms. Habba’s tenure as interim U.S. attorney was set to expire on Friday. But she announced on social media on Thursday that she would be New Jersey’s acting U.S. attorney.
The decision will allow Ms. Habba to lead the New Jersey office for at least the next 210 days.
President Trump had previously nominated Ms. Habba to be U.S. attorney in a permanent capacity, which under the law would have precluded her from serving as acting U.S. attorney. But a spokesman for the Justice Department said Thursday that the White House had withdrawn her nomination, allowing her to serve as acting U.S. attorney.
A White House spokesman, Harrison Fields, said in a statement that “President Trump continues to have full confidence in Alina Habba and her commitment to serve the people of New Jersey.”
Now named NJ’s acting U.S. attorney, Alina Habba says she doesn’t ‘cower to pressure’
Alina Habba posted on social media that she has become the acting U.S. attorney for the District of New Jersey. The move may keep Habba leading the office for the next 210 days. Habba’s 120-day appointment was set to expire on Friday, and the state’s District Court judges had opted to appoint someone else to the role.Desiree Leigh Grace was chosen to replace Habba earlier this week. After that decision was made public, top officials at the Justice Department, including Attorney General Pam Bondi and Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche, said Grace had been removed.
The post says: “Donald J. Trump is the 47th President. Pam Bondi is the Attorney General. And I am now the Acting United States Attorney for the District of New Jersey. I don’t cower to pressure. I don’t answer to politics. This is a fight for justice. And I’m all in.”
The maneuver by the Justice Department to change her status from interim to acting may keep Habba leading the office for the next 210 days.
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It came as her 120-day appointment as interim U.S. attorney was set to expire on Friday, and the state’s U.S. District Court judges had opted to appoint someone else to the role.
Desiree Leigh Grace, the first assistant U.S. attorney for New Jersey, was chosen to replace Habba earlier this week. After that decision was made public, top officials at the Justice Department, including Bondi and Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche, posted on social media that Grace had been removed.
They alleged that the decision of the judges would “threaten” and “undermine” the president.
Alina Habba, former personal defense attorney to President Donald Trump, attends her swearing-in ceremony, as interim federal prosecutor for New Jersey, in the Oval Office at the White House on March 28, 2025. On July 22, a panel of judges declined to permanently appoint her to the post.
Grace shared a post of her own on July 23 that called it the “honor of a lifetime to represent the United States and to serve the people of New Jersey for the last nine years.”
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She said the judges chose her to serve as the United States attorney for the District of New Jersey and that she was “prepared to follow that order and begin to serve in accordance with the law.”
Grace said the decision was based on merit and that during her tenure she had served under both Republican and Democratic administrations and was promoted four times in the last five years, “including four months ago by this administration.”
As interim attorney, Habba’s term was limited to 120 days, but the state’s District Court judges could have voted to allow her to retain the post beyond that.
This article originally appeared on NorthJersey.com: NJ’s interim US Attorney Alina Habba staying in the job for now
Trump pick Alina Habba to remain acting NJ US attorney after judges reject her for the post: ‘I don’t cower to pressure’
Alina Habba will continue to serve as New Jersey’s top prosecutor despite a panel of judges rejecting her for the post. Habba was tapped by Trump to lead the New Jersey US Attorney’’s Office in March – pending permanent approval. The Garden State’s 17 federal judges opted against extending Habba’s tenure earlier this week and announced the appointment of First Assistant US Attorney in New Jersey Desiree Leigh Grace. Grace was subsequently fired by Attorney General Pam Bondi, who said the DOJ would “not tolerate rogue judges”
“Donald J. Trump is the 47th President. Pam Bondi is the Attorney General. And I am now the Acting United States Attorney for the District of New Jersey,” Habba wrote on X Thursday.
“I don’t cower to pressure. I don’t answer to politics,” she added. “This is a fight for justice. And I’m all in.”
Habba was tapped by Trump to lead the New Jersey US Attorney’s Office in March. Luiz C. Ribeiro for New York Post
Habba’s stint as New Jersey’s interim US attorney was set to expire on Friday.
She was tapped for the temporary role by Trump in March – pending permanent approval – and had 120 days to serve as US attorney in an interim capacity.
The Garden State’s 17 federal judges — mainly appointed by Presidents Barack Obama and Joe Biden — opted against extending Habba’s tenure earlier this week and announced the appointment of First Assistant US Attorney in New Jersey Desiree Leigh Grace to lead the office.
Grace was subsequently fired by Attorney General Pam Bondi, who said the DOJ would “not tolerate rogue judges.”
A DOJ official explained to multiple outlets Thursday that Trump withdrew Habba’s nomination to be the state’s US attorney and that she was appointed first assistant US attorney, replacing Grace, and allowing Habba to become acting US attorney of New Jersey.
The first assistant attorney becomes acting US attorney if the position is vacant.
Habba revealed that she would remain as New Jersey’s top prosecutor in an X post. US Attorney Habba, /X
The DOJ and New Jersey US Attorney’s Office did not immediately respond to The Post’s request for comment.
Habba, Trump’s onetime personal attorney, had been blocked from receiving a Senate confirmation hearing by some Democrats in the upper chamber – leaving an extension of her interim status by the state judges or Thursday’s workaround as the only options for her to remain New Jersey’s top prosecutor.
The New Jersey native had garnered the enthusiastic support of the National Troopers Coalition, National Association of Police Organizations and National Police Defense Foundation since being nominated to the post.
Former Trump lawyer Alina Habba to remain New Jersey prosecutor despite court decision
Alina Habba, President Donald Trump’s former personal lawyer, said on Thursday that she would seek to remain as the top federal prosecutor in New Jersey. Habba’s statement marked the latest challenge by the Trump administration to oversight by federal courts. The Justice Department used a series of procedural maneuvers to attempt to circumvent the Tuesday decision by the U.S. District Court and keep her in the post. The judiciary has emerged as one of the few checks on Trump’s aggressive use of presidential power in his second term, White House officials have said.
Reuters
WASHINGTON – President Donald Trump’s former personal lawyer, Alina Habba, said on Thursday that she would seek to remain as the top federal prosecutor in New Jersey despite a judicial decision this week not to extend her appointment.
Habba’s statement marked the latest challenge by the Trump administration to oversight by federal courts.
Habba, who has no previous experience as a prosecutor, wrote on X that she was now the acting U.S. attorney in New Jersey. The Justice Department used a series of procedural maneuvers to attempt to circumvent the Tuesday decision by the U.S. District Court in New Jersey and keep her in the post, a department spokesperson told Reuters.
“I don’t cower to pressure,” Habba wrote on X. “I don’t answer to politics.”
Judges on the U.S. District Court in New Jersey declined to extend Habba’s tenure as interim U.S. attorney, instead naming the second-highest ranking official in the office, Desiree Grace, as her replacement.
But hours later Attorney General Pam Bondi said Grace had been removed, accusing the judges of having political motivations and seeking to thwart Trump’s authority.
U.S. law allows federal district courts to intervene if an interim U.S. attorney’s 120-day term expires and courts have regularly invoked that authority.
Grace, in a LinkedIn post on Wednesday, said she was “prepared to follow” the court’s order and “begin to serve in accordance with the law.”
It was not immediately clear if either Grace or the District Court judges would attempt to challenge the maneuvers. Neither could immediately be reached for comment.
Carl Tobias, a law professor at the University of Richmond, in Virginia, said the Trump administration appeared to have the legal authority for its moves, but they could further strain its relationship with federal courts.
“It does undermine that authority from Congress,” Tobias said, referring to courts’ role in the process. “But that doesn’t trouble this White House or this Justice Department.”
The judiciary has emerged as one of the few checks on Trump’s aggressive use of presidential power in his second term. White House officials have accused judges who have blocked parts of Trump’s agenda they have deemed unlawful of exceeding their authority and taking part in a “judicial coup.”
Habba has brought two criminal cases against Democratic officials during her time in office and drew criticism after saying she hoped to use her role to aid Republicans in New Jersey.
Habba set to remain top federal prosecutor in New Jersey despite ouster by judges
Alina Habba, President Trump’s pick for New Jersey’s top federal prosecutor, says she will continue on in the position. A judicial decision declined to extend her interim status and instead opted to replace her. The announcement comes hours after Desiree Grace, the attorney tapped by the U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey, said she was prepared to assume the role. However, because Habba is now acting U.s. attorney, Grace likely cannot assume the post. Last week, the Trump administration circumvented a judicial decision not to retain another of the president’s picks for New York’s top prosecutor, John Sarcone III.
She doubled down in her first remarks since the decision, declaring that she is now the state’s acting U.S. attorney.
“Donald J. Trump is the 47th President. Pam Bondi is the Attorney General. And I am now the Acting United States Attorney for the District of New Jersey,” Habba said in a statement posted to the social platform X. “I don’t cower to pressure. I don’t answer to politics. This is a fight for justice. And I’m all in.”
A Justice Department official said that Trump withdrew her nomination to be the state’s U.S. attorney and she was appointed first assistant U.S. attorney, meaning she becomes acting U.S. attorney because the position is now vacant.
The announcement comes hours after Desiree Grace, the attorney tapped by the U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey judges to succeed Habba, said she was prepared to assume the role, elevating the standoff to new heights.
It began Tuesday when the court issued a terse standing order declining to retain Habba at the end of her 120-day trial period. They appointed Grace, who was Habba’s first assistant, to serve in the role indefinitely after a private vote Monday.
Habba’s short tenure has at times been contentious, especially after two Democratic public officials faced criminal charges over an incident at a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement facility under her leadership.
Attorney General Pam Bondi fired Grace in response to the judges’ decision. Grace wrote on LinkedIn earlier Thursday that she’s honored by her appointment “on merit” and is ready to take on the role “in accordance with the law.”
“I’ve served under both Republican and Democratic administrations,” Grace wrote. “I’ve been promoted four times in the last five years by both — including four months ago by this administration. Politics never impacted my work at the Department. Priorities change, of course, and resources are shifted, but the work and the mission were steady.”
The dual announcements seemed to have left in flux the leadership of the U.S. attorney’s office in New Jersey. However, because Habba is now acting U.S. attorney, Grace likely cannot assume the post.
Last week, the Trump administration similarly circumvented a judicial decision not to retain another of the president’s picks. Judges on the U.S. District Court of the Northern District of New York refused to extend the interim term of John Sarcone III, Trump’s pick there for the district’s chief federal prosecutor.
But to get around that decision, Sarcone was appointed as a “special attorney” to Bondi, which gave him the powers of a U.S. attorney indefinitely.
Source: https://www.axios.com/2025/07/25/alina-habba-nj-prosecutor-trump-administration