The Justice Department on Monday formally appealed a federal judge’s ruling that Alina Habba has been unlawfully serving as the United States attorney for New Jersey since her 120-day term ended without her being confirmed by the Senate.
New Jersey’s 17 U.S. District Court judges chose to replace Habba as the interim attorney last month after the term expired without her confirmation, but the Trump administration used unconventional tactics to keep her in the role by firing her replacement.
U.S. District Judge Matthew Brann determined last week that those tactics were not “lawful,” but placed his ruling on hold pending the appeal, which will now take the case to the 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.
Habba has not commented on the appeal but accused New Jersey’s two Democratic senators, Cory Booker and Andy Kim, along with Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley, of tanking her nomination. The two New Jersey senators used the blue slip tactic to oppose her nomination, and Grassley has stood by the tradition.
“Remember, President [Donald] Trump nominates individuals that he knows can get the job done. Your job is to work with your committee to advance their nominations,” Habba told Grassley in a post on X. “Doing the dirty work of Thom Tillis, Corey Booker and Andy Kim is NOT what America voted for. Now New Jersey is becoming a playground for criminals because of partisan Federal Judges – this is a time for leadership, not deflection. The American people deserve better.”
Trump threatened to file a lawsuit over the “blue slip” tactic, which allows home-state senators to veto nominees to district courts and U.S. attorneys’ offices.
Misty Severi is a news reporter for Just The News. You can follow her on X for more coverage.
