Trump hit with setback as court rules Alina Habba unlawfully served as top federal prosecutor in New Jersey
The decision comes as President Donald Trump has fought to keep his preferred U.S. attorney nominees in charge in blue states
By Ashley Oliver Fox News
Published December 1, 2025 9:12am EST
An appellate court found on Monday that Alina Habba is unlawfully serving as the top prosecutor in New Jersey, delivering a blow to President Donald Trump as he fights to keep his preferred nominees in charge of U.S. attorneys' offices in blue states.
A three-judge panel for the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 3rd Circuit said in a unanimous order that a lower court was correct to disqualify Habba, a fiery Trump loyalist who previously served as the president's personal defense lawyer.
The Trump administration’s argument would "effectively [permit] anyone to fill the U.S. Attorney role indefinitely," the panel wrote, adding that "this should raise a red flag."
The administration could ask for a full panel of 3rd Circuit judges to reconsider the decision, or it could turn to the Supreme Court to weigh in. Fox News Digital reached out to the Department of Justice and a Habba spokesperson for comment.
The three-judge panel heard arguments on Habba’s appointment in October and grilled a DOJ lawyer over the unconventional way Trump and Attorney General Pam Bondi reinstalled Habba as U.S. attorney after her initial, temporary appointment expired.
Habba is one of several names who became jammed up in court proceedings over allegations that Trump sidestepped the Senate and improperly exploited loopholes in federal vacancy laws to keep his preferred prosecutors in place.
Habba’s case was the furthest along in the court process, but Lindsey Halligan and Bill Essayli, temporary U.S. attorneys in Virginia and California, respectively, are among those also facing high-stakes court challenges to their appointments. A federal judge found last week that Halligan was unlawfully serving in her role, but the administration has vowed to appeal the decision.
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