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Alina Habah signalled on Thursday that she had no intention of leaving her temporary role as a US lawyer for New Jersey, and announced she would “not catch” her pressure after a federal judge voted to extend her term.
Haba, a former private lawyer for President Donald Trump, wrote in a statement online that she has been appointed as a “acting” US lawyer.
“Donald J. Trump is the 47th President. Pam Bondy is the Attorney General. I am currently a United States lawyer for the New Jersey area,” Haba wrote. “I will not put any pressure on you. I will not answer politics. This is a fight for justice. And I will be in everything.”
A spokesman for the Department of Justice (DOJ) told Fox News Digital that Habba works as a current US lawyer, not a “interim” position he held previously.
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President Donald Trump is standing with Alina Haba at the White House’s interim US lawyer on March 28, 2025 (Andrew Harnik/Getty Images)
Trump and Attorney General Pam Bondy’s operations to keep Haba the top federal prosecutor in New Jersey are governed by a series of mysterious federal vacancy laws.
These same laws also gave the New Jersey District Court the authority to vote on whether to extend Haba’s 120-day term as interim US lawyers or replace her. In a rare move, they chose to replace her with Haba’s No. 2, Digily Grace, but Bondy quickly fired Greeting, leaving him with the question of who will play the role.
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Alina Haba will speak at a panel at the 2025 Conservative Political Action Conference in Oxon Hill, Maryland. Haba, a former private lawyer for President Trump, is currently a US lawyer for New Jersey. (Andrew Harnik/Getty Images)
DOJ says Habba’s term as an “interim” US lawyer will expire on Friday. Fox News Digital learns that Habba had resigned before its expiration date and had been reappointed as a US lawyer with a 210-day period limit.
According to the judge’s appointment, Grace will take over on Saturday, but it is unclear whether the judge’s vote is currently in effect considering changes to Haba’s work, and legal disruption could lead to a court battle.
Grace, a career prosecutor at the U.S. Lawyer’s Office since 2016, wrote on the LinkedIn Post after being fired saying “It was a lifelong honor to represent the United States and serve the people of New Jersey,” and was scheduled to be sworn on Saturday.
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Trump’s lawyer Alina Haba will speak at a campaign rally for former US president and Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump on October 29, 2024 at the PPL Center in Allentown, Pennsylvania (pictured by Angela Weiss/AFP via Getty Images)
“Yesterday, a district judge in the New Jersey area chose me to serve as a US lawyer for the New Jersey area,” Grace wrote. “It will forever be the greatest honor that they chose me in merit. I am ready to follow that order and begin to serve according to the law.”
Trump also appointed Haba to serve as a permanent US lawyer for four years, but his position requires Senate approval, and Haba has no clear path to confirmation.
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Two New Jersey Democrat Sens. Corey Booker and Andy Kim are now maintaining her nomination through the Senate’s “blue slip” tradition, and those familiar with the matter said the Trump administration has not submitted Senate material to veterinarians.
Booker said in a statement that the Trump administration violated the law after Grace’s firing.
“The dismissal of career civil servants legally appointed by the court is another blatant attempt to intimidate those who disagree with them and undermine the independence of the judicial system,” Booker wrote on social media. “This administration may not like the law, but they don’t go beyond that.”
David Spunt of Fox News contributed to this report.
Ashley Oliver is a reporter for Fox News Digital and Fox Business, covering the Department of Justice and legal affairs. Email story tips to Ashley.oliver@fox.com.
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