Acting United States Attorney for the District of New Jersey Alina Habba resigned from her position on Monday after the Third Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that she could not legally stay in the role.
Habba was serving in the role in an interim capacity for 120 days from March until July, then continued to serve in the role as legal battles continued about whether she could continue serving beyond that point without going through the Senate confirmation process.
“As a result of the Third Circuit’s ruling, and to protect the stability and integrity of the office which I love, I have decided to step down in my role as the U.S. Attorney for the District of New Jersey. But do not mistake compliance for surrender,” Habba said in a statement.
“This decision will not weaken the Justice Department and it will not weaken me. My fight will now stretch across the country. As we wait for further review of the courts ruling, I will continue to serve the Department of Justice as the Senior Advisor to the Attorney General for U.S. Attorneys,” she continued, quipping that “you can take the girl out of New Jersey, but you cannot take New Jersey out of the girl.”
Attorney General Pam Bondi also slammed the court’s decision as “flawed,” and said she was “saddened” to get Habba’s resignation.
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The attorney general said she believed the decision will eventually “be reversed” and that the Trump-backed lawyer would come back to the role if that does happen.
“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 stated.
“These judges should not be able to countermand the president’s choice of attorneys entrusted with carrying out the executive branch’s core responsibility of prosecuting crime,” she continued.
Last week, New Jersey Democratic Sens. Andy Kim and Cory Booker agreed with the court’s decision that Habba’s arrangement was against the Federal Vacancies Reform Act.
“This decision vindicates concerns we have long raised about the extraordinary and unlawful steps taken by the Trump Administration to keep Habba in office without Senate confirmation,” the senators wrote in a joint statement.
“The Court’s ruling underscores a simple but fundamental principle: U.S. Attorneys must be independent and installed consistent with the rule of law, not because of their political loyalty or through political maneuvering,” the December 1 statement continued. “The Trump Administration’s attempt to bypass clear legal requirements to install a loyalist undermined the legitimacy of the U.S. Attorney’s Office in New Jersey and cast a shadow over the cases she oversaw.”
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