Alina Habba, a former personal lawyer to President Trump, has resigned as the U.S. attorney for New Jersey after a federal appeals court ruled last week that she was serving unlawfully in the post.
In a social media statement released Monday, Habba said she was stepping down “to protect the stability and integrity” of the U.S. Attorney’s Office and insisted the move was not made under legal duress. She said the decision “will not weaken the Justice Department and it will not weaken me,” and that she will remain at the Justice Department in a different role as senior adviser to the attorney general for U.S. attorneys.
The resignation follows a unanimous decision by a three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit, which concluded Habba was not lawfully serving as U.S. attorney and disqualified her from supervising cases. The ruling capped a lengthy legal battle that had delayed numerous federal matters in New Jersey and disrupted the court calendar.
Habba first became widely known as one of Trump’s attorneys during his post-presidency legal fights. After Trump returned to the White House, he named Habba in March as acting U.S. attorney for New Jersey on an interim basis and later put forward her nomination for the permanent position; she did not win Senate confirmation.
When her 120-day interim period was due to expire, the U.S. District Court for New Jersey appointed career prosecutor Desiree Grace to the office. Attorney General Pam Bondi then removed Grace, and the administration pursued a series of legal steps to restore Habba to leadership—moves that triggered court challenges and ultimately led to the Third Circuit’s decision.
The Justice Department has recently suffered similar setbacks over the legality of U.S. attorney appointments in other districts, including cases in Nevada, California and Virginia. In the wake of the Third Circuit ruling, Bondi sharply criticized the decision, saying it made it impossible for Habba to run the office and accusing judges of politicizing the proceedings and stalling trials aimed at prosecuting violent criminals. Bondi said the department intends to seek further review and expressed confidence the ruling will be overturned.