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The basics:

• On Tuesday, federal judges declined to extend Alina Habba‘s interim appointment
• Desire Grace was then named interim U.S. attorney for New Jersey
• UPDATED: Hours later, Justice Department reinstalls Habba

Updated 7:55 a.m. EST July 23, 2025: Just hours after a panel of federal judges in New Jersey rejected President Donald Trump‘s nominee, Alina Habba, to continue as U.S. Attorney and instead appointed Desiree Grace to the role, senior officials at the U.S. Department of Justice removed Grace and reinstalled Habba.

In a social media post, Attorney General Pam Bondi said wrote, “@USAttyHabba has been doing a great job in making NJ safe again. Nonetheless, politically minded judges refused to allow her to continue in her position, replacing Alina with the First Assistant. Accordingly, the First Assistant United States Attorney in New Jersey has just been removed. This Department of Justice does not tolerate rogue judges — especially when they threaten the President’s core Article II powers.”

Additionally, the judges said Habba’s 120-day term began March 24 and expired July 22 – the exact count of days. But the DOJ claims she didn’t begin until March 25 and can serve through the end of the week, leading to a legal dispute over the timeline.

Read the original story, published at 2:01 p.m. July 22, below:

A panel of federal judges declined to extend Alina Habba’s interim appointment as U.S. attorney for the District of New Jersey.

Just hours before Habba’s 120-day term was due to expire at midnight July 22, the state’s federal judges opted to name Desiree Grace, first assistant in the state’s U.S. attorney’s office, as interim head of the office, according to the standing order.

President Donald Trump appointed Habba, his longtime attorney-turned-presidential counselor, to temporarily act as the state’s top prosecutor in March. Her name was formally submitted to the Senate for a full four-year term earlier this month.

Before joining the Trump administration, Habba represented the president in multiple legal battles over the years. A graduate of Widener University School of Law, Habba previously served as managing partner at Bedminster-based Habba Madaio & Associates LLP. There, she focused on civil litigation and corporate law.

During her brief tenure as New Jersey’s top prosecutor, Habba made headlines for charging Newark Mayor Ras Baraka for allegedly trespassing at Delaney Hall. The Newark facility houses a privately run federal immigration detention center.

The charges were later dropped. However, Baraka has since sued federal officials for “false arrest and malicious prosecution.”

She has also brought charges against U.S. Rep. LaMonica McIver, D-10th District, for allegedly “assaulting, impeding and interfering with law enforcement” at Delaney Hall. McIver recently pleaded not guilty.

Concerns over politicizing office

Over the past few months, there’s also been reports of resignations in the office amid concerns Habba is politicizing a traditionally nonpartisan office. Morale has been low, as well, The New York Times and The Daily Beast reported.

Despite the controversies, high-ranking Justice Department officials expressed confidence in Habba’s abilities.

In a post on X, Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche urged the federal judges in New Jersey to appoint Habba indefinitely on an interim basis while she awaits Senate confirmation.

“In light of the smear campaign, it’s worth repeating @USAttyHabba has the full confidence of DOJ leadership because she’s doing the job – aggressively, independently, and by the book. The district judges should not be swayed by political noise. Keep her in place,” Blanche said.

Ahead of her term’s expiration, Habba reportedly expressed uncertainty about her future in the office but said she was grateful for the position and hoped to stay, an anonymous source told New Jersey Globe last week.

It remains unclear if Trump will withdraw Habba’s nomination or let the judicial process continue its course. However, New Jersey Democratic Sens. Cory Booker and Andy Kim have publicly refused to endorse her, making a Senate confirmation unlikely.