Interim U.S. Attorney for the District of New Jersey, Alina Habba, was pushed out of her role on Tuesday after district court judges voted to replace her with her top assistant.
Habba, a Jersey-born lawyer from an Iraqi family, was selected by President Donald Trump to serve as counselor to the president in December, before he elevated her to the U.S. attorney position in March.
As the Trump ally’s 120-day interim period was set to expire, judges declined to retain her and instead opted for Desiree Grace, who took over the post temporarily beginning Tuesday, Fox News reported.
Grace is also a Republican, and was chief of the prosecutor’s criminal division when Habba named her first assistant in April, according to the New Jersey Globe.
While Trump nominated Habba for the full four-year term earlier this month, she currently has no path to Senate confirmation as her state’s two Democrat Senators, Cory Booker and Andy Kim, said they will not support her, the Washington Post reported.
Before serving as a prosecutor, Habba was Trump’s personal lawyer and a 2024 campaign surrogate.
U.S. Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche blasted the decision on X, accusing the district court judges of trying to “force” Habba out before her term official expires on Friday:
https://twitter.com/DAGToddBlanche/status/1947718932908982301
“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,” Blanche wrote.
“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,” he added.
During her tenure as a federal prosecutor, she co-led “Operation Apex Hammer” with U.S. Marshal Juan Mattos Jr., leading to the arrests of 264 wanted criminals including illegal aliens suspected of sex crimes and gang activity.
Olivia Rondeau is a politics reporter for Breitbart News based in Washington, DC. Find her on X/Twitter and Instagram.
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