Kaelan Deese

Washington Examiner

Alina Habba resigned Monday as acting U.S. attorney for New Jersey after a federal appeals court ruled she had been serving unlawfully, ending months of uncertainty inside one of the Trump administration’s most legally vulnerable U.S. attorneys’ offices.

Habba, formerly one of President Donald Trump’s personal lawyers and a fierce public defender of the president, said she stepped aside to protect “the stability and integrity of the office which I love,” though she insisted her exit should not be seen as a retreat. “Do not mistake compliance for surrender,” she wrote on X.

“This decision will not weaken the Justice Department and it will not weaken me,” she added.

Within minutes of her announcement, the Justice Department laid out a new leadership structure for the district.

Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche said Philip Lamparello, who has been at the office since September, will now serve as senior counsel with authority over the Criminal Division and Special Prosecutions Division, including work handled in the district’s branch offices.

Jordan Fox, designated as a special attorney, will oversee the Civil Division and Appellate Division and handle any additional matters that arise in the district. Ari Fontecchio will take on the role of executive assistant U.S. attorney and manage the Administrative Division, as well as other administrative responsibilities.

Blanche, also a former personal attorney to Trump, said he has “full confidence in each of these exceptional attorneys” and framed the moves as part of the DOJ’s commitment to “bring in the best and brightest” as the department continues its broader personnel restructuring.

Attorney General Pam Bondi added separately that DOJ will still seek further review of the appeals court ruling from last week and that Habba would return as U.S. attorney if the decision is reversed. Habba will now serve as a senior adviser to Bondi.

The ruling that forced her out

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the 3rd Circuit’s decision last week marked a direct rebuke of the administration’s attempts to keep Habba in office through a chain of temporary designations after her earlier acting term expired. The judges found the maneuver violated federal law and would effectively allow a presidential appointee to serve indefinitely without Senate confirmation, undercutting the constitutional appointment process.

While Habba is the first to resign following such a ruling, she is far from the only Trump-installed U.S. attorney found to be accused of serving unlawfully. Courts in Virginia, Nevada, and the Central District of California have issued similar decisions. In Virginia, the finding invalidated interim U.S. Attorney Lindsey Halligan’s authority to bring cases against former FBI Director James Comey and New York Attorney General Letitia James, resulting in both indictments being thrown out.

Operational fallout in New Jersey

The New Jersey office has been operating under strain for months. After Habba’s appointment was first challenged this summer, judges paused sentencings, plea agreements, and upcoming trials until DOJ provided clarity on who had lawful authority to sign filings. The department eventually resumed casework by adding Blanche’s signature alongside Habba’s, a stopgap approach that kept prosecutions moving even as the legal fight played out.

Habba acknowledged the uncertainty over the weekend at the Kennedy Center Honors, calling the situation “a big problem” that affected “all sides of the coin and justice,” and said the office would be “making an announcement soon,” according to CNN.

Habba ended her statement on Monday with a nod to her roots in the Garden State. “Make no mistake, you can take the girl out of New Jersey but you cannot take New Jersey out of the girl.”