Habba Resigns as New Jersey US Attorney After Court Ruling (1)

Alina Habba has resigned as the top US prosecutor in New Jersey, a defeat for President Donald Trump’s effort to install loyalists in key Justice Department leadership positions.

Attorney General Pam Bondi announced the resignation on Monday, saying she was “saddened” by it after a federal appeals court ruled that the Trump administration had unlawfully named Habba as acting US attorney.

“The court’s ruling has made it untenable for her to effectively run her office, with politicized judges pausing trials designed to bring violent criminals to justice,” Bondi said in a post on X on Monday.

Alina Habba at swearing in on Friday, March 28, 2025.

Photographer: Bonnie Cash/UPI/Bloomberg

Judges have also rejected Trump’s appointments for the top federal prosecutor in several judicial districts this year, ruling that US attorneys in Los Angeles, Nevada, and Virginia are illegally serving in their positions. US attorneys in New Mexico and New York are also facing court challenges.

Bondi said the Justice Department will seek further review of the court’s decision and is confident it will be reversed. In the meantime, Habba will serve as a senior advisor for US attorneys in the department, Bondi said.

Read More: Habba Blocked as New Jersey US Attorney by Appeals Court

Habba said in a separate statement that she decided to step down “to protect the stability and integrity of the office” as a result of the ruling but vowed to fight on.

“Make no mistake, you can take the girl out of New Jersey, but you cannot take New Jersey out of the girl,” Habba said. “Do not mistake compliance for surrender.”

A three-judge panel for the 3rd US Circuit Court of Appeals ruled on Dec. 1 that the Justice Department could not extend Habba’s job when her 120-day interim appointment expired. The panel upheld an Aug. 21 ruling by a district judge that the Trump administration circumvented the law to appoint Habba.

Several Trump US attorneys have also been challenged because of a failure to get Senate approval.

On Nov. 24, a federal judge threw out criminal charges against former FBI Director James Comey and New York Attorney General Letitia James, ruling that the prosecutor who brought the cases, Lindsey Halligan, had been illegally appointed.

(Updates with more details starting in the third paragraph.)

To contact the reporters on this story:
David Voreacos in New York at dvoreacos@bloomberg.net;
Chris Strohm in Washington at cstrohm1@bloomberg.net

To contact the editors responsible for this story:
Sara Forden at sforden@bloomberg.net

Anthony Aarons

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