Habba, whom Trump selected to serve as counselor to the president in December 2024 before he elevated her to New Jersey’s top prosecutor role in March, was voted out of the position in July after district court judges decided to replace her with her chief deputy as her 120-day interim period came to a close.
The Department of Justice (DOJ) fired Habba’s replacement, Desiree Grace, just hours after the district judges voted her in, Breitbart News reported. U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi then installed Habba in Grace’s former chief deputy role, giving her acting control of the office once again as there was still no one serving as the state’s U.S. attorney.
Monday’s unanimous decision was made by a three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit, who ruled against the DOJ’s efforts to appeal U.S. District Judge Matthew W. Brann’s August decision that Habba was not “lawfully” appointed to the U.S. attorney position.
Brann issued his ruling after two New Jersey criminal defendants challenged Habba’s appointment in court, calling it unconstitutional, Breitbart News reported.
The appeals court panel agreed with Brann and the defendants on Habba’s appointment, but did not dismiss their criminal cases, the Washington Post noted.
“It is apparent that the current administration has been frustrated by some of the legal and political barriers to getting its appointees in place,” Judge D. Michael Fisher wrote in the court’s opinion. “Its efforts to elevate its preferred candidate for U.S. Attorney for the District of New Jersey, Alina Habba, to the role of Acting U.S. Attorney demonstrate the difficulties it has faced — yet the citizens of New Jersey and the loyal employees in the U.S. Attorney’s Office deserve some clarity and stability.”
The Trump administration has attempted to keep Habba in the role despite her lack of confirmation from the U.S. Senate, which has failed due to the chamber’s tradition of getting blue slips from her state’s senators, Cory Booker and Andy Kim — both Democrats who have refused to support her nomination.
Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley (R) has not moved forward with the nomination because Booker and Kim will not turn over their blue slips, garnering ire from both Habba and Trump.
“Chuck Grassley, who I got re-elected to the U.S. Senate when he was down, by a lot, in the Great State of Iowa, could solve the ‘Blue Slip’ problem we are having with respect to the appointment of Highly Qualified Judges and U.S. Attorneys, with a mere flick of the pen,” Trump wrote in a July Truth Social post.
Habba argued that Grassley is doing a “disservice” by holding up her confirmation process in an August Fox News interview:
“No. 1, I was the nominee to become the U.S. attorney. And Cory Booker and Andy Kim — who I have never, to this day, spoken to in my life, despite my attempts to meet them — have truly, truly done us a disservice,” she said during an appearance on Hannity.
“And frankly, same with Sen. Grassley by holding up a traditional blue slip, not a law, and not allowing a lot of the president’s picks to go through and be voted on by Senate,” she added. “I didn’t even get to that point.”
The legality of Habba’s appointment and whether it violates the Federal Vacancies Reform Act “will now likely be settled by the Supreme Court,” the Washington Post stated.
Habba has not yet made a public statement on the latest decision.
Olivia Rondeau is a politics reporter for Breitbart News based in Washington, DC. Find her on X/Twitter and Instagram.
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