Top Justice Department officials on Tuesday announced that a deputy to Alina Habba, President Trump’s pick for New Jersey’s top federal prosecutor, has been “removed” after federal judges declined to extend Habba’s interim role.
Attorney General Pam Bondi said that Desiree Leigh Grace, Habba’s first assistant who was tapped by the U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey to lead the office upon the expiration of Habba’s 120-day temporary term, has been “removed.”
Bondi said that Habba has done a “great job in making NJ safe again,” but “politically minded judges refused to allow her to continue in her position,” instead selecting Grace to take over the office.
“Accordingly, the First Assistant United States Attorney in New Jersey has just been removed,” Bondi said. “This Department of Justice does not tolerate rogue judges — especially when they threaten the President’s core Article II powers.”
It was not immediately clear whether “removed” meant Grace had been removed from the role of first assistant or removed from the office altogether. The Hill requested comment from the Justice Department.
It’s also not apparent whether Grace’s removal would prevent her from assuming the role of New Jersey’s U.S. attorney. The court named her in a standing order as Habba’s successor, though it’s unclear whether the judges could enforce the appointment — or if anyone but Trump himself can fire her.
Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche said the court’s decision “proved this was never about law — it was about politics.”
“They forced out President Trump’s pick, @USAttyHabba, then installed her deputy, colluding with the NJ Senators along the way. It won’t work,” Blanche wrote on the social platform X, referring to Democratic New Jersey Sens. Cory Booker and Andy Kim, who have opposed her nomination.
“Pursuant to the President’s authority, we have removed that deputy, effective immediately,” he added. “This backroom vote will not override the authority of the Chief Executive.”
Habba took over as New Jersey’s top federal prosecutor in March, after working in the White House as a counselor to the president and, before that, as Trump’s legal spokesperson and a senior adviser to his campaign.
Her profile rocketed amid her legal defense of Trump in high-profile civil cases, including her representing him in his business fraud case and the defamation and sexual assault lawsuits brought by advice columnist E. Jean Carroll. It cemented her profile as a staunch defender of the president in the courtroom and the press.
She quickly came under scrutiny as U.S. attorney, namely for her arrests and charges against Newark Mayor Ras Baraka (D) and Rep. LaMonica McIver (D-N.J.) stemming from an incident at a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement facility.
A trespassing charge against Baraka was dropped, but McIver is still fighting three counts of assaulting, resisting, impeding and interfering with a federal officer, to which she pleaded not guilty. Baraka has sued Habba for damages over his arrest.
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