Alina Habba Disqualified: Appeals Court Rules Trump-Appointed New Jersey U.S. Attorney Was Unlawfully Installed

A federal appeals court on Monday disqualified Alina Habba, a former personal attorney to Donald Trump, from serving as the top federal prosecutor in New Jersey, ruling that she was unlawfully appointed to the powerful post of U.S. attorney for the District of New Jersey. The unanimous decision from a three-judge panel of the 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Philadelphia affirms an earlier district court order that had already found her appointment improper under federal law.

Habba was installed as interim U.S. attorney in March 2025 after serving as Trump’s personal lawyer in several high-profile civil and criminal matters. When her 120-day interim term expired, the administration used a series of personnel maneuvers to keep her in place without securing Senate confirmation, arguing that she could continue to serve based on internal delegation of authority. The appeals court rejected that theory, saying it would allow Habba to bypass the constitutional process of presidential appointment and Senate confirmation altogether.

In its opinion, the panel described the administration’s strategy as an effort to circumvent statutory “time limits and power-sharing rules,” stressing that New Jersey residents and career staff in the U.S. attorney’s office were entitled to clarity and stability in their leadership. By upholding the disqualification order, the court effectively barred Habba from supervising federal prosecutions in the state and cast doubt on actions she took after her lawful interim term ended.

The ruling arrives amid broader scrutiny of Trump-era efforts to place loyalists atop key U.S. attorney offices nationwide. Legal experts say the decision could inspire similar challenges in other districts where interim prosecutors were kept in place through aggressive use of vacancy statutes and internal promotions. Defense attorneys in New Jersey cases prosecuted under Habba’s watch are already weighing whether to seek dismissal of indictments or reversal of convictions, arguing that the office lacked lawful authority.

Habba has previously framed her fight to remain in office as part of a larger battle over presidential control of federal prosecutors, portraying herself as an advocate for would-be U.S. attorneys stalled by politics in the Senate. For now, however, today’s decision is a sharp setback for the Trump administration’s approach to staffing the Justice Department and leaves New Jersey’s federal law enforcement leadership in flux as officials move to install a replacement who meets constitutional and statutory requirements.