Judges Derail Trump’s Pick, Force Habba Out of Top

President Trump’s quest to set up Alina Habba, his former personal protection lawyer, as U.S. Attorney for the District of New Jersey hit another legal roadblock Monday after an appeals court ruled Habba was unlawfully serving as the state’s top federal prosecutor. It’s the latest transfer in a months-long legal chess sport in which the courts repeatedly undo the president’s effort to place Habba in the important blue state position. 

In a unanimous vote, a three-judge panel for the U.S. Court of Appeals for the third Circuit, sitting in Philadelphia, said that a decrease court ruling was appropriate in disqualifying Habba from serving in the position. The panel concluded that the Trump administration’s makes an attempt to keep Habba in the position would “effectively [permit] anyone to fill the U.S. Attorney role indefinitely,” with the panel including that “this should raise a red flag.” 

READ MORE: Breaking: Federal Judge Declares Appointment of Trump’s Personal Lawyer As US Attorney illegal

Alina Habba Rejected by Federal Judges for Permanent Role As U.S. Attorney for District of New Jersey

Here’s more from the ruling:

“Under the Government’s delegation theory, Habba may avoid the gauntlet of presidential appointment and Senate confirmation and serve as the de facto U.S. Attorney indefinitely,” the ruling said.

NEW: A federal appeals court has disqualified Alina Habba as U.S. attorney for New Jerseyhttps://t.co/nC5V4E1npE

— Axios (@axios) December 1, 2025

This saga all began back in March when Trump appointed Habba to the place on an interim foundation, which meant she may serve as Acting U.S. Attorney for the District of New Jersey for 120 days. The president then nominated her for the everlasting position in June, but the U.S. Senate failed to act on her nomination; he withdrew her nomination on July 24.

On that same day, Attorney General Pam Bondi appointed Habba to the position of a particular attorney who may conduct “any kind of legal proceedings … which United States Attorneys are authorized to conduct.” That transfer led to U.S. District Judge Matthew Brann to rule in August that Habba had been performing without legal authority for the earlier two months and her actions could possibly be thought of void.

RedState’s streiff did a masterful job of summarizing the legal wrangling over Habba’s appointment right here; he concluded:

Because of Senator Thune’s lack of ability or unwillingness to break the logjam holding up nominations, a number of interim U.S. Attorneys are dealing with a vote by a group of judges. Most of those are going for the administration, but there are a couple that appear doomed to comply with Habba’s rejection.

To streiff’s level, Alina Habba is not the only Trump appointee to discover their job enmeshed in a legal quagmire.

Lindsay Halligan, Trump’s decide for U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia, had her appointment ruled “defective” last month. And Bill Essayli, chosen by the president to be Acting U.S. Attorney for the Central District of California, was disqualified after a federal decide ruled in October that Essayli was unlawfully serving in the position because his nomination had failed to be thought of by the U.S. Senate.

As for Monday’s ruling against Alina Habba, the panel had a message for the Trump administration:

“It is apparent that the current administration has been frustrated by some of the legal and political barriers to getting its appointees in place,” senior US Circuit Judge D. Michael Fisher wrote in the 32-page ruling. 

“Its efforts to elevate its preferred candidate for US Attorney for the District of New Jersey, Alina Habba, to the role of Acting US Attorney demonstrate the difficulties it has faced—yet the citizens of New Jersey and the loyal employees in the US Attorney’s Office deserve some clarity and stability.”

As of this writing, the Trump White House had not commented on the ruling. Next steps could possibly be for the administration to ask a full panel of third Circuit judges to rethink the choice – or going proper to the U.S. Supreme Court.

Editor’s Note: Radical leftist judges are doing every thing they’ll to hamstring President Trump’s agenda to make America great again.

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