Just hours after replacing Alina Habba as U.S. attorney in New Jersey with her assistant, Desiree Leigh Grace, Grace was forced to step down, too.
Mere hours after the court moved Tuesday to not extend Habba’s 120-day appointment and name her successor, Attorney General Pam Bondi and her deputy, former Trump personal attorney Todd Blanche, swooped in.
Habba “has been doing a great job in making NJ safe again,” Bondi wrote on X.
“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,” Bondi continued, referring to Grace, whom Habba named as her assistant earlier this year.
“This Department of Justice does not tolerate rogue judges—especially when they threaten the President’s core Article II powers,” added Bondi, who finds herself in the thick of the administration’s fight to resolve the lingering Jeffrey Epstein controversy amid pressure from the right and the left.
White House spokesperson Harrison Fields told the Daily Beast in a statement that Trump “has full confidence” in Habba, “whose work as acting U.S. Attorney for the District of New Jersey has made the Garden State and the nation safer.”
Fields added that the administration “looks forward to her final confirmation in the U.S. Senate and will work tirelessly to ensure the people of New Jersey are well represented.”
Grace received an email Tuesday informing her of her termination, The New York Times reported. The outlet noted that this may not necessarily prevent her from serving in the role. But another murky issue was whether the three-judge panel could enforce their decision.
Blanche, who said Habba’s term expires just before midnight on Friday, similarly criticized the panel for a “left-wing agenda.”
The panel’s order was signed by George W. Bush appointee Renée Marie Bumb.
Trump nominated Habba to a full term on July 1, but Senate confirmation is far from a sure thing, especially considering Habba’s track record in the four months she has been in office.
Her office charged Newark mayor Ras Baraska with trespassing following his arrest outside an Immigration and Customs Enforcement building. The charge was dropped, though, drawing fierce criticism from a judge.
Habba’s office has thus far stood behind charges against Democratic Rep. LaMonica McIver over the same incident.
Habba has also been investigating the state’s Democratic governor and attorney general over immigration enforcement activities in the state, claiming Phil Murphy and Matthew Platkin told state police not to work with ICE officers.
