New Jersey’s top federal prosecutor resigned on Monday, leaving it unclear who will now serve as the state’s acting U.S. attorney.
Alina Habba’s resignation comes after an appeals court ruled that the former defense lawyer for President Donald Trump had been serving in the position unlawfully.
Habba is one of several U.S. attorneys across the country found to have been improperly appointed by the Trump administration. That includes Lindsey Halligan, whose case against New York Attorney General Letitia James was thrown out last month after a federal judge determined the acting federal prosecutor for the Eastern District of Virginia had “no lawful authority.”
"While I was focused on delivering real results, judges in my state took advantage of a flawed blue slip tradition and became weapons for the politicized left," Habba said in a statement.
A federal judge ruled in August that Habba had been unlawfully serving as acting U.S. attorney in New Jersey because she lacked Senate confirmation. The Third Circuit upheld that decision in a ruling last week.
Habba announced her resignation on social media and said she will now serve as a senior adviser to the attorney general, focusing on U.S. attorneys.
“But do not mistake compliance for surrender,” she wrote in a post on X. “This decision will not weaken the Justice Department and it will not weaken me.”
She added, “You can take the girl out of New Jersey, but you cannot take New Jersey out of the girl.”
Rep. Frank Pallone Jr., a New Jersey Democrat who helped pass the 2007 law requiring Senate confirmation for U.S. attorneys, applauded Habba’s resignation. He had repeatedly called for her to step down.
“Donald Trump and his right-wing partisans are not above the law. Alina Habba is gone, and not a moment too soon,” Pallone said in a statement Monday afternoon. “Her illegal appointment caused major problems for federal courts here in New Jersey and she abused her power to go after Trump’s political opponents.”
In the interim, the Justice Department has appointed three officials to divide the duties of the U.S. attorney in New Jersey: Philip Lamparello will serve as senior counsel, overseeing the Criminal Division and Special Prosecutions Division; Jordan Fox will serve as special attorney, overseeing the Civil and Appellate divisions; and Ari Fontecchio will serve as executive assistant U.S. attorney, overseeing the Administrative Division.
“The Department of Justice is committed to bringing in the best and brightest to carry out our mission,” Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche said in a statement. “I have full confidence in each of these exceptional attorneys and look forward to our continued collaboration as we make New Jersey and America safe.”
Neither the Justice Department nor Habba’s office immediately responded to requests for comment from Gothamist.
