Alina Habba, newly appointed interim US attorney for New Jersey, speaks to members of the media outside the West Wing of the White House in Washington, DC, US, on Monday, Mar. 24, 2025. (Samuel Corum/Sipa/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
The fight over Habba's authority was brought by a criminal defendant named Julien Giraud Jr., who is facing routine drug and gun charges in New Jersey.
After Trump appointed Habba, the president's former personal defense attorney, as acting U.S. attorney, Giraud's attorney alleged that the move violated his client's constitutional rights because of the string of unusual moves it took to attempt to re-install Habba to the role.
Habba, who does not have a clear path to Senate confirmation, was serving in the meantime as the interim U.S. attorney, which carries a 120-day tenure.
New Jersey's federal judges, in an unusual move, decided against extending her term and instead appointed career attorney Desiree Grace to the job. Trump fired Grace, withdrew Habba's nomination as permanent U.S. attorney and then reinstated Habba as acting U.S. attorney, which keeps Habba in charge for at least another 210 days under federal statute.
TRUMP STANDS BY ALINA HABBA AS DOJ CLASHES WITH JUDGES OVER HER REPLACEMENT
Alina Habba, then-attorney for President Donald Trump, speaks on stage during the fourth day of the Republican National Convention at Fiserv Forum on July 18, 2024, in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. (Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)
The case comes as Trump has also made similar unconventional maneuvers in other blue states, including California and New York, because, like Habba, his appointees for those states have no clear path to Senate confirmation.
Lawmakers and outside groups have also weighed in on Habba's appointment. The Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers of New Jersey said in an amicus brief ahead of the hearing that Trump and Attorney General Pam Bondi violated the Appointments Clause of the Constitution with their "novel" orders on Habba.
"To circumvent the laws that Congress passed to govern the appointment of U.S. Attorneys, the Attorney General did something unprecedented," the group wrote.
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They laid out how Bondi made Habba a "special attorney" before designating her as the office's "first assistant," the position previously held by Grace, which Bondi maintains allows her to deem Habba the acting U.S. attorney under the federal vacancy laws.
"To our knowledge, no prior Attorney General has ever attempted this," the group said.
Ashley Oliver is a reporter for Fox News Digital and FOX Business, covering the Justice Department and legal affairs. Email story tips to ashley.oliver@fox.com.
https://www.foxnews.com/politics/judge-decide-trump-appointee-alina-habbas-fate-us-attorney