Getty ImagesAlina Habba, former personal lawyer to U.S. President Donald Trump, has resigned as New Jersey’s top prosecutor after a court battle over her eligibility to serve as the state’s U.S. attorney.
U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi accepted Habba’s resignation Monday, saying the court’s “erroneous” decision made it “untenable for her to effectively lead her office.”
Habba’s departure comes a week after a U.S. appeals court ruled that she was illegally serving as a U.S. attorney — a ruling likely to affect many criminal cases in the Garden State.
Bondi said Habba would remain at the Justice Department as a senior adviser and would seek to review the decision, hoping for a reversal.
Trump chose Habba for U.S. attorney this year, but after a district court rejected her nomination, the Trump administration appointed her to a position that allowed her to replace him on an acting basis.
Appeals judges ruled last week that the temporary assignment, which had not been confirmed by the U.S. Senate, violated the federal Vacancy Reform Act.
In a statement published on
“But don’t confuse compliance with surrender,” she wrote, saying she would work as Bondi’s advisor to the U.S. attorneys. “My fight will now extend to the whole country.”
Bondi wrote on
The attorney general praised Habba’s record and said that during his tenure, the state capital of Newark saw a 20 percent reduction in crime and the city of Camden had its first summer in 50 years without a homicide.
Habba, 41, first joined Trump’s personal legal team in 2021 after meeting him at his golf club in Bedminster, New Jersey.
She then represented Trump at his secret trial in New York last year, when he was convicted of 34 counts of falsifying business records. Trump appealed this conviction.
Before Habba assumed the role of U.S. Attorney for New Jersey, Trump announced he would name her his presidential advisor during his second administration, describing Habba as “unwaveringly loyal” and a “tireless advocate for justice.”
Several other U.S. attorneys appointed by Trump have been found to be serving illegally, primarily because their appointments circumvent confirmation by the Senate – the legislative body of the U.S. government that traditionally appoints U.S. attorneys.
At the White House on Monday, Trump echoed Habba and Bondi’s frustration with the “blue slip” — a process that allows senators from their home states to report whether they approve or disapprove of judicial nominees, which was originally intended as a courtesy to ensure presidential collaboration.
“I can’t appoint a U.S. attorney who isn’t a Democrat,” he said. “What that means is I have to keep appointing people for three months and then appoint another, another. And it’s a very sad situation. We’re losing a lot, we’re losing a lot of great people.”
He said seven lawyers will not be able to become lawyers in the United States because of the blue slip.
Last month, another Trump personal lawyer, Lindsey Halligan, was disqualified from her position in Virginia because her appointment violated the statute governing acting U.S. attorneys.
A federal judge in California also ruled in October that Acting U.S. Attorney Bill Essayli was illegally carrying out his duties in the Central District of California.
In September, a Nevada judge issued a similar opinion regarding Sigal Chattah in that state, but stayed his disqualification pending his appeal.
Additional reporting by Grace Eliza Goodwin
