Topline<\/p>\n
Former Trump defense attorney Alina Habba was replaced as U.S. Attorney in New Jersey on Tuesday, according to a court order, failing to secure the votes needed from the state\u2019s federal judges to remain, after the Trump ally drew controversy during her tenure for charging Democratic politicians over their clashes with federal immigration agents.<\/p>\n
Alina Habba speaks after being sworn in as interim US Attorney General for New Jersey at the White … More House on March 28.<\/p>\n
Associated PressKey Facts<\/p>\n
Habba, whom Trump appointed to serve as the interim U.S. attorney in New Jersey, needed either Senate confirmation or a vote by the state\u2019s federal judges in order to remain in her role past her initial 120-day term, which expired this week.<\/p>\n
New Jersey\u2019s Chief Judge Ren\u00e9e Marie Bumb confirmed Tuesday that Habba had not received the judicial votes to remain in the role, instead announcing that the judges had replaced her with Desiree Leigh Grace, a more experienced prosecutor who was previously Habba\u2019s first assistant, The New York Times notes<\/a>.<\/p>\n Habba became known as one of Trump\u2019s most vocal attorneys prior to her appointment as U.S. attorney, frequently appearing on television to advocate for Trump while also representing him in major cases like the civil fraud trial against Trump and his company and writer E. Jean Carroll\u2019s defamation case against the president.<\/p>\n Since becoming U.S. Attorney, Habba has garnered controversy for her decisions to charge Newark Mayor Ras J. Baraka and Rep. Monica McIver, D-N.J., in connection with their efforts to tour a federal immigration detention facility in the state\u2014sparking a rebuke<\/a> from the judge overseeing Baraka\u2019s case, who chastised Habba\u2019s office for its \u201cworrisome misstep\u201d in arresting the mayor after prosecutors swiftly dropped the charges.<\/p>\n While The Times notes that judges replacing a U.S. attorney like this is rare, it marks the second time they\u2019ve done so since Trump\u2019s second term began, also rejecting John A. Sarcone III as the U.S. attorney of the Northern District of New York.<\/p>\n Chief Critic<\/p>\n Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche\u2014also a former defense attorney for the president\u2014criticized<\/a> the judges who voted against Habba\u2019s appointment on Tuesday, accusing them of \u201ctrying to force out [Habba] before her term expires at 11:59 p.m. Friday.\u201d \u201cTheir rush reveals what this was always about: a left-wing agenda, not the rule of law,\u201d Blanche claimed in an X post after the judges\u2019 decision was revealed. \u201cAlina is President Trump\u2019s choice to lead\u2014and no partisan bench can override that.\u201d<\/p>\n Will Alina Habba Get A New Doj Role?<\/p>\n The judges\u2019 decision not to extend Habba\u2019s term as U.S. attorney does not necessarily mean she\u2019ll leave the office entirely. In Sarcone\u2019s case, the Trump administration responded to judges rejecting his appointment by naming him<\/a> as the \u201cspecial attorney to the attorney general,\u201d a role that officials said carries the same responsibilities as the U.S. attorney despite the different title. It remains to be seen if Habba could now receive a similar appointment in New Jersey, or a different role within the Trump administration.<\/p>\n What To Watch For<\/p>\n Habba still faces a civil lawsuit<\/a> from Baraka over his arrest, with the Newark mayor accusing the prosecutor of false arrest, malicious prosecution and defamation in connection with her decision to arrest him and subsequent public comments justifying the charges. While Habba dropped the charges against Baraka, the government\u2019s prosecution against McIver remains ongoing, and the Democratic lawmaker has pleaded<\/a> not guilty to charges of assaulting, resisting, impeding and interfering with federal officials.<\/p>\n Who Is Alina Habba?<\/p>\n Habba is a New Jersey-based attorney who was best known for representing a parking garage prior to being catapulted into the national spotlight when she began representing Trump<\/a> in 2021. She did not have any experience as a prosecutor prior to being named U.S. attorney, according to The Times. The lawyer has gone on to be one of Trump\u2019s most loyal attorneys, going beyond the courtroom to represent him on television and speak at major Republican events like the Republican National Convention and CPAC. Habba drew controversy as Trump\u2019s personal attorney, garnering repeated rebukes<\/a> from the court during the Carroll defamation trial for failing to follow basic courtroom procedures like the process for introducing evidence. She also reportedly settled<\/a> a lawsuit in 2024 with a former waitress at Trump\u2019s Bedminster golf club, who alleged<\/a> Habba tricked her into signing a non-disclosure agreement after the waitress alleged she had been harassed by a coworker at the club.<\/p>\n Key Background<\/p>\n The judges\u2019 announcement of Habba being replaced came after the New Jersey Globe reported<\/a> last week that the prosecutor told colleagues she could depart the office following the judges\u2019 vote, though she hoped she would be able to stay on in the role. Trump administration officials had come to the lawyer\u2019s defense ahead of the judges\u2019 Monday vote, reportedly telling<\/a> Bumb that Habba had the Justice Department\u2019s \u201cfull confidence\u201d as Blanche and other officials praised Habba on social media. Habba \u201chas brought steady leadership and sound judgment as Interim U.S. Attorney for New Jersey,\u201d Blanche wrote<\/a> on X, while DOJ Chief of Staff Chad Mizelle wrote<\/a>, \u201cAlina Habba is keeping New Jersey safe. Politics aside, the choice to keep her is an easy one.\u201d Democrats had protested Habba remaining in the role, however, with House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., writing<\/a> on X, \u201cAlina Habba is a woefully unqualified political hack who has to go.\u201d Habba complained about Democrats\u2019 opposition to her in an interview with Fox News on Monday, before the judges\u2019 decision was announced, claiming<\/a> she \u201ccan\u2019t get in front of the full Senate\u201d for a confirmation vote \u201cif Hakeem Jeffries is making comments like that.\u201d<\/p>\n Further ReadingForbesAlina Habba Is Latest Trump Personal Attorney To Join His Administration\u2014Here\u2019s The Full ListBy Alison Durkee<\/a>ForbesPreviously Obscure Attorney Lands Big Payday Representing Trump In High-Profile LawsuitsBy Zach Everson<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Topline Former Trump defense attorney Alina Habba was replaced as U.S. Attorney in New Jersey on Tuesday, according…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":29324,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[18],"tags":[24833,23,24836,12,790,3,24835,644,24837,24834,21,19,22,20,25,24],"class_list":["post-29323","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-united-states","tag-alina-habba","tag-america","tag-doj","tag-donald-trump","tag-immigration","tag-news","tag-replaced","tag-trump-administration","tag-trump-defense-attorney","tag-u-s-attorney","tag-united-states","tag-united-states-of-america","tag-unitedstates","tag-unitedstatesofamerica","tag-us","tag-usa"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/29323","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=29323"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/29323\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/29324"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=29323"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=29323"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=29323"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}